Central Coast hair salon Chic Hair and Co save Shirley Ryan
A Central Coast hair salon has put the care into hair care after its staff went above and beyond to literally save the life of one of their clients. Here’s how they did it.
Central Coast
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If it wasn’t for the persistence and care of her hairdressers, Shirley Ryan might not have been around to celebrate her 83rd birthday this month.
Incredibly, the staff at Chic Hair & Co raised the alarm after their loyal customer Mrs Ryan missed her regular hair appointment last month.
They called her and couldn’t make contact, so salon assistant Kirra Byrne drove to her Forresters Beach home to check on her.
Ms Byrne’s concern grew when she saw a note under the door from an occupational therapist two days earlier.
“The note said she had missed an appointment on Tuesday and I thought ‘this is Thursday, this is weird’,” Ms Byrne said.
She sought assistance from a neighbour and made some phone calls before calling the police, who made contact with Mrs Ryan’s daughter.
By the time police and her daughter had arrived, Mrs Ryan had been on the ground for almost two days.
“I was heating up my dinner on Tuesday night and I thought I would sit down while it was heating,” Mrs Ryan said.
“I sat on one end of the step and slipped off.
“I should have pressed my VitalCall button but I didn’t even think about it.”
For the next two days, Mrs Ryan shuffled between rooms in her home, having to listen to her mobile phone ring out, as she was unable to lift herself to answer it.
Once she was reunited with her daughter, Mrs Ryan was taken by ambulance to hospital. She was in Gosford Hospital for one week, before she was transferred to Gosford Private Hospital for a further fortnight, before returning home.
While in hospital, the Chic Hair & Co staff all visited Mrs Ryan and did her hair while they were there.
Mrs Ryan’s family and neighbours are in no doubt about the significance of her hairdresser’s detective work on that fateful day.
The salon was inundated with wellwishes and flowers to thank the staff members for their care.
“Words can’t say how grateful I am; there’s just not enough words,” Mrs Ryan said.
Salon owner Hannah Corrigan joked to Mrs Ryan about their persistence: “you can never go and get your hair done anywhere else; we’d find you”.