Resha Tandan climbs down rock face to save injured boyfriend
Isaac Ebeling would have died in the Blue Mountains if it wasn’t for the brave actions of his girlfriend Resha Tandan who, without safety equipment, descended the cliff he fell from to be by his side.
Pride of Australia
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One second he was enjoying pizza at the top of a cliff, the next he was clinging to life, broken, bloodied and severely bruised 35m below.
Isaac Ebeling was enjoying a picnic with his girlfriend of two months, Resha Tandan, and another friend in the Blue Mountains when a misstep and horrific fall almost cost him his life.
If it wasn’t for Resha’s quick thinking and brave actions up at Lincoln’s Rock on January 14, Isaac would not have made it to his Year 12 graduation this week with goals to establish a career as a social worker to support children in need.
“It happened so fast, like a dream,” Isaac said.
“I was walking away from the ledge and just tripped on a rock and fell.
“I remember falling and hitting everything. I fell about 10m before the first blow on my shoulder, then I fell another 25m down the cliff hitting trees and rocks.”
Functioning on adrenaline, Resha instructed her friend to phone for help before scrambling down the rock face to help her boyfriend.
“[Resha] saved my life,” Isaac said. “Her quick instincts to get down there and put my head up stopped me from choking on my blood.”
Resha — a part-time pool lifeguard — spent 45mins trying to keep Isaac conscious while relaying his symptoms to her friend who was on the phone with emergency services until help arrived.
“After [Isaac] fell, I just heard him fall again and again,” Resha said. “I looked over the edge and could see him in a ball.
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“I grabbed his phone and told my friend Hannah to call an ambulance then I started running to the side while calling his name, trying to get him to respond.
“He didn’t at first then he started moaning and screaming. It was terrifying. I was holding trees and branches trying to climb down to him.
“When I got there he was bleeding and really dirty and screaming in pain. Then he started coughing up blood and that’s when it clicked that it was really bad.
“I would sit him up when his mouth filled with blood and tried to keep him talking until helped arrived.”
Paramedic Damon Anderson was the first to access Isaac after abseiling down the rock face.
“Isaac was in a precarious spot, a couple of metres from the next fall. The next drop was probably about 20 metres,” Mr Anderson said.
“He wasn’t in a good way. He didn’t look well and wasn’t responding well. I could only do the bare basics in treating him with pain relief until critical care paramedics and doctor arrived.
“Resha was down there when I arrived. When we got there, she was talking to him and keeping him calm. It was very important for him to hear that familiar voice.
“In my 20-year career, I’ve only seen two people survive a fall like that. I’ve seen people fall off a chair and die, so he is very lucky.”
After almost three hours, Isaac was taken to hospital where he spent 10 days in intensive care followed by another seven days of observation.
He had a broken shoulder blade, 11 fractured ribs, seven cracked vertebrae and broken bones in his foot.
When his mum Paula Anderson arrived at the hospital after the incident, she said his swelling made him unrecognisable.
Mrs Anderson has nominated Resha for a News Corp Australia Pride of Australia Award to recognise her extraordinary actions.
“Without any safety equipment, Resha scrambled down the rock face after [Isaac’s] fall keeping him calm and awake for 45 minutes until help arrived,” Mrs Anderson said.
“For her to have such a clear and intelligent state of mind was remarkable. Without her courage and selflessness my son would not be alive today.”
To nominate your unsung hero, visit prideofaustralia.com.au