When Nick Wilson unexpectedly had a medical episode while on holiday in Geelong recently, he didn’t expect his seven-year-old son, Harry, to save the day.
The pair had travelled from Horsham to visit family and were spending quality time together at an arcade on 7 November when the 44-year-old felt pins and needles in his face.
“I just thought ‘Oh, I’m going to check out here. I need an ambulance,'” he recalled.
Not knowing what was happening but still able to dial Triple Zero (000), Nick asked for an ambulance and Harry did his best to provide the call taker with location details.
“It was hard because we aren’t from the area, so we weren’t familiar with where we were,” Nick said.
“I was lying there, and Harry was running up and down; he was yelling out names of shops and trying to find the street.
“When paramedics arrived, Harry was the one who spotted them and helped them find me by waving them down.”
Nick and Jess with son Harry.
The Norlane ambulance crew treated Nick and transported him to University Hospital Geelong in a stable condition, with Harry also catching a ride to the hospital with the crew.
Amazingly, it was a visit from local Ambulance Victoria (AV) paramedics to Harry’s school in Horsham that taught him the life-saving skills that ensured he got his dad the care he needed.
Just a month earlier, AV paramedics Amy Brown and Acting Yarriambiack Paramedic Community Support Coordinator Gemma Pfeiffer visited his primary school to share information about what to do in an emergency.
Paramedic Amy said the Horsham ambulance team was “incredibly proud of Harry”.
“We presented to students at a recent school visit and the key message was that paramedics are people that children can trust when their loved ones are hurt,” she said.
“He clearly took that onboard when he helped the paramedics treat his dad by directing them to him and staying calm the whole time.”
Following this event, Amy returned to the school recently and presented Harry with a special certificate and ambulance teddy to publicly congratulate him for his response to his father’s emergency.
Paramedic Amy Brown presents Harry with his commendation.
Nick said he was proud of his son for knowing what to do in an emergency.
“I was lying there and feeling quite sorry for myself, but that day Harry was the hero,” he said.
Harry’s words of advice to all children if they need to call an ambulance are:
- Be calm and call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency.
- Watch for the ambulance.
- Wave them down.
- Don’t be frightened, paramedics are there to help us.
Ambulance Victoria has educational resources for young people on its website.
