The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A three-year-old Denare Beach boy is alive thanks to the life-saving teamwork of a grandmother, an off-duty paramedic and a lifeguard. On the afternoon of July 8, Sheila Bangs was swimming at Denare Beach's Main Beach with her grandchildren when she noticed a boy laying face down in the water. 'At first I thought he was playing, then I went, 'Is that kid playing?' and I said it loud,' recalls Bangs, a Creighton resident. After another child touched him, Bangs saw the unresponsive boy's arm drop under the water and knew something was terribly wrong. Standing almost waist-deep in Amisk Lake, about three feet away from the boy, Bangs immediately took action. Yelling for help, she lifted him out of the water. He was completely limp, his cheeks were purple and he didn't seem to be breathing. Bangs passed the boy to a beach lifeguard who had arrived on scene. By now Tara Trudeau, who was enjoying a day at the beach with her two young children, had heard one of the unconscious boy's family members call out her name. The family member knew Trudeau was a paramedic and would be able to help. 'That's when I just reacted, got to the child and he obviously was unresponsive and needed CPR,' says Trudeau, who lives in Creighton and works for the Northern Health Region. 'I believe the lifeguard had already started breaths, but it was a big blur. I just told them I was a paramedic and did what I would have done in any other situation. There was definitely an autopilot there.' See 'Happy' on pg. Continued from pg. Fortunately, the little boy responded to the CPR. As Trudeau puts it, 'The li'l guy is happy and healthy.' Trudeau, 28, gives ample credit to Bangs and the lifeguard, who did not wish to have her name published, for their 'quick actions.' The mother of the boy, who did not want her name or that of her son published, said she is 'very grateful and thankful' to those involved in saving her son. Asked what she would say to them, the mother replied: 'Thank you just for being there at that time.' The mother said her toddler was at the beach with his aunt and other relatives when, in a brief moment, he went off on his own. None of the people involved in saving the boy's life believe they did anything special. And don't even try using the word 'hero.' 'I am flattered people call me a hero, and I say thank you, but in the end I did what my coworkers or/and anyone else that knows CPR would have done,' says Trudeau. Others helped Besides Bangs and the lifeguard, Trudeau says others helped by getting an automated external defibrillator (which fortunately was not needed) and offering her support during CPR. As well, a friend took Trudeau's two children aside and kept them safe while their mother was helping with the boy. 'Everybody did something,' says Trudeau. 'And that is the main reason this li'l guy is alive today.' Trudeau stresses that 'horrible accidents happen' and 'not all have a happy ending.' 'We all need to be aware and take responsibility of our surroundings and try and prevent what we can with education, constant upgrading and knowledge,' she says. 'Everyone can take a CPR course. CPR, First Aid, safety courses, life jackets and swimming lessons and reminders to ourselves things can happen (are important). Also in situations like that, the one thing everyone can do is stay calm.'
