Two toddlers who fell into a backyard swimming pool at Casula last month have made a full recovery, thanks largely to life-saving CPR measures taken by their family members and first responding police.
Just before 2.45pm on Saturday 18 July 2020, emergency services were called to a home on Lakewood Crescent, following reports two young children were found unresponsive in the pool.
The boy and girl, who are now both aged two, were pulled from the water, with relatives conducting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until the arrival of officers from Liverpool City Police Area Command.
Sergeant Michael McClafferty was first on the scene and commenced CPR on the young boy, Osman El Achrafe. A short time later, he was joined by Senior Constable Peter Heginbotham and Senior Constable Victor Suarez, who started CPR on the girl, Destiny Shrief.
The officers performed CPR for eight minutes until the arrival of NSW Ambulance paramedics, who rushed both children to hospital in a critical condition.
Sgt McClafferty recalled the heart-dropping moment the call for assistance came across his police radio.
“It was one of those moments in time where the realisation hit, and I knew the devastating scene I was about to encounter,” Sgt McClafferty said.
“You just have to push that aside and do all you can to help and that’s exactly what we did.”
Remarkably, both children have made a full recovery more than a month after the incident.
Last week, all three officers were reunited with Destiny and her family and S/Cst Heginbotham said it was amazing to see the toddler thriving.
“When we last saw her, it was under such horrible and scary circumstance so it’s just so extraordinary to see her running around, laughing and playing like this never happened,” S/Cst Heginbotham said.
“To see and know that our actions helped her to reach this point, it really makes this job worthwhile.”
Destiny’s mother and registered nurse, Badriah Al-Achrafe, said the fact that both children went on to fully recover was nothing short of a miracle.
“I’ll be forever grateful for what these officers did for our family. How do you even begin to thank someone for saving your child’s life?” Ms Al-Achrafe said.
“From the police, to the paramedics and medical professionals at the hospital, there are so many people we owe everything to – we will always be indebted to them.”
Destiny’s father, Herman Shrief, wanted to reiterate the importance of first aid training; particularly to those with children in their homes.
“Destiny making a full recovery was the result of a number of important factors and one crucial element was that we were able to give effective CPR until the arrival of police,” Mr Shrief said.
“We were obviously distraught and extremely relieved to see the police arrive and take control, but if people take anything away from this, I’d really like to stress the importance of first aid training in the home. It can help mean the difference between life and death.”
Liverpool City Police Area Commander, Superintendent Adam Whyte, said words couldn’t describe how proud he was of his officers.
“I often boast that my officers are some of the best in the state and events like this just go to prove my point,” Superintendent Whyte said.
“Their professionalism and dedication to serving the community has helped saved the lives of two precious toddlers.
“I’m sure that as much as this will have a lasting impact on the families involved, it will also be a stand-out moment in the careers of the officers involved. It’s truly one of those events that makes our job one of the most rewarding on offer,” Superintendent Whyte said.
For more information on CPR for children, please visit https://kidshealth.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/cpr-resuscitation.
