Woman’s Weekly Living Series – July 2019

Saving

liveS

Each year, around 100,000

people in the UK are given first

aid by St John Ambulance

volunteers. We may hardly

notice their presence, but let’s

celebrate their unsung service

PHOTOs: AdriAn BrOOks/imAgewise, sJA

St John Ambulance

volunteer, Tessa

Tessa has helped save

many lives, and says it

feels good to see them

recovering afterwards

and keeping

us safe

I

t was one of those

life-changing moments.

Tessa Weaver was

driving on the motorway

when a land Rover crashed

and rolled over just in front

of her. She’d pulled over

and was hurrying towards

the accident, carrying the

first-aid kit she kept in the

glove compartment, when

she heard someone

say, ‘Thank goodness,

someone who

knows what to do...’

‘I remember

thinking, ‘That’s

good...’ and then

realising they meant

me!’ says Tessa from

Surrey. ‘Fortunately,

the driver was fine,

but I realised

I never wanted

to be in that

situation again,

and volunteered

to become a

St John Ambulance

Community First Responder.’

That was 11 years ago, and

Tessa now commits around

15 hours a week when she’s

ready to go out and give first

aid at a moment’s notice. She

also attends public events,

from fetes and festivals to

cycling contests and mini

rugby tournaments.

Most commonly she deals

with wasp stings and falls.

But three years ago, matters

became more dramatic.

‘I once got a call from the

ambulance service to say

that a removal man had

fallen while carrying a load

upstairs. He was just two

minutes from my house and

I was asked to attend before

the ambulance arrived.

The man wasn’t breathing

and was being given CPR

by someone in the house.

Time is crucial in events

like these and can make the

difference between surviving

with a good quality of life

or dying. I had a defibrillator

with me, which delivered

an electric shock to his

heart and got it beating

again before the ambulance

arrived and took him to

hospital, where he had a

pacemaker fitted.

Two days later, the woman

who’d given him CPR and

I visited him in hospital. It

felt fantastic to see him fully

recovered and to know we’d

been able to help.’

,s
JAA

bbu

In

to

siit

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St

Could you

save a life?

✿ It takes only minutes to learn

what to do when faced with

injuries such as choking, severe

bleeding, heart attack and

cardiac arrest. Why not

attend a local first-aid

training course, download

the free SJa First aid app,

or simply watch SJa’s

short online videos for

free at sja.org.uk and feel

confident to save a life.

Who

knew?

Around 30,000 volunteers

in the UK work for^

St John Ambulance, in roles

including first aiders,^

nurses, doctors and^

paramedics.