Boy, 10, saves little brother with CPR learned at primary school

A 10-year-old boy has saved the life of his little brother by telling his panic-stricken dad how to perform CPR after the little boy almost drowned in a hotel swimming pool.

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PRESTON MAY, 10, saved his little brother’s life and it was all thanks to a 45-minute CPR training session he did at his primary school just weeks before with St John Ambulance Australia NSW.

The May family were on holidays in Jakarta, Indonesia. Preston and Jayden, 5, were playing Marco Polo around the pool area on December 19.

Jayden slipped into a 2m deep pool. It went unnoticed for seconds, maybe a minute. Jayden remembers the moment he slipped in.

“I sank. Nobody heard me. I was screaming, asking for help,” he said.

It was the silence above the water that snapped dad, Nathan, into action.

“I took my eyes off them for a few minutes. I couldn’t hear much noise and when I looked up, I saw Preston, but not Jayden,” he said.

“I rushed to the big pool and saw Jayden unconscious at the bottom of the pool.

“I screamed. I was panicking and didn’t know what to do.”

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli met with Jayden and Preston at Dalmeny Public School. Mr Piccoli handed out his first bravery award to the 10-year-old. Picture: Stacy Thomas

Both Mr May and his eldest son Preston jumped into the pool and got Jayden out. He was stiff and his lips were turning to blue and purple.

“I was in a daze. I was yelling at Jayden, asking him to wake up, telling him daddy was here,” he said.

“It felt like that went on for minutes, but it was Preston who put his hand on my shoulder and told me to blow into Jayden’s mouth and press on his chest.”

Preston remembers it this way.

“We were on holiday in Indonesia, playing around the pool area. I was daydreaming and forgot to look out for Jayden,” he said.

“Then dad said “where’s Jayden”. We both saw him face down in the pool. When we got him out of the water, dad was worried.

“I just told him he had to do CPR. I wasn’t panicked, I just knew what he had to do.”

Mr May said he was thankful Preston was there.

“I’d never done CPR before, nor had I had training or experience, so I did the best I could.”

Mum, Melissa May said staff were certain Jayden “had gone”.

“They were all saying it didn’t look good,” she said.

Mr May said after about 30 seconds, Jayden made a little cough and water came out. He was still unconscious, but Mr May said it gave him hope.

“I really don’t know what would have happened if Preston wasn’t there to snap me out of it and tell me what to do.”

Hotel staff where the incident happened, rushed to Mr May’s aid and took over for him.

Jayden was rushed to hospital where he had water on his lungs. He was kept in overnight and didn’t really come to until about 4am the next day.

The family was supposed to attend a family member’s wedding that day, but missed out.

“That vision of him in the bottom of the pool, face down, will live with me forever.

“I thought he was gone. His mouth was going blue and purple. I was just screaming for my wife.”

Almost 21,000 primary students across NSW learned CPR last year.

Mr May said he had booked in this month to do his CPR training and intends to enrol all four of his boys into swimming lessons.

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli presented Preston with a bravery award. It was the first Mr Piccoli has handed out.

Mrs May said receiving the award was a proud moment for their son, but they almost lost another child.

“It’s definitely an emotional thing to relive.”

Grandparents travelled up from Goulburn for the presentation at Dalmeny Public School on Thursday.

Youngsters learn first aid training at their primary school.

ST JOHN FIRST AID

■ St John Ambulance Australia NSW is committed to promoting the importance of first aid in the community and believes that there is no better place to start than in schools

■ The program is offered free to school-aged children aged five to 11

■ They learn first aid skills they can use in the event of an emergency

■ The program is delivered in 45-minute sessions to class groups

■ Last year almost 21,000 across NSW received the free training

■ A total of 136 schools took part in NSW last year

■ 29 volunteers donated more than 1100 hours of their time to teach the program in schools

■ To register your school, download a registration form HERE. Then email it to [e-mail]