School head praised for helping save life of child who collapsed
A HEADTEACHER has been nominated for a first-aider award after he helped save the life of a four-year-old girl who stopped breathing for more than two minutes in class.
Bill James performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on pupil Adela Zastreskova after she collapsed at St Joseph’s Primary School in Aldershot, Hampshire. The youngster had suffered a febrile convulsion, a fit caused by a change in body temperature. Mr James said he had been working in his office when he heard a commotion and saw Adela had collapsed.
The 52-year-old realised Adela’s heart had stopped and, supported by his staff Lorraine Williams and Debbie Flynn, began to give her chest compressions and rescue breaths for two minutes before she started to breathe for herself.
Mr James said: “(Adela) had gone limp and wasn’t breathing.
“I started giving Adela CPR, just as I’d been shown at our St John Ambulance training. Kelly Ralls, our designated first aid lead, helped me by counting chest compressions, while Mrs Flynn called an ambulance.
“It was a team effort and surprisingly we all stayed calm.”
Adela was taken to hospital where she was given antibiotics and discharged a few hours later after the incident on April 4 , 2017.
Grateful mother Petra Simunicova, said: “I’m just very happy and thankful they knew what to do.”
St John Ambulance trainer Jo Michaelides explained: “About five in 100 children have a febrile convulsion some time before their sixth birthday, though they most commonly occur between 18 months and three years.”