Rose and Scarlett Fay saved their grandma Jill Sculley’s life and have now received bravery awards

Two Loreto College students have saved their grandmother’s life listening to a SA Ambulance triple 0 call taker’s advice over the phone and received bravery awards for their efforts.

Two Loreto College students, aged 11 and 12, have been recognised with bravery awards for saving the life of their grandmother last month.

77-year-old Jill Sculley went into cardiac arrest on Peacock Road near South Terrace, just before midnight on Friday, June 14.

She and her granddaughters, Rose and Scarlett Fay, had attended Loreto’s Performing Arts Festival at the Convention Centre before catching a tram to their car.

Mrs Sculley, from Melbourne, was looking after the girls while their parents were overseas.

“We were just at the car, and she fell back on the fence,” Rose says.

“Her eyes were wide open and then she just fell straight down.

“I called the ambulance and they said, ‘Is she breathing?’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not sure’, she was sitting up against the fence but slouched over.

77-year-old Jill Sculley went into cardiac arrest and was saved by her two grandchildren. Picture: Supplied

77-year-old Jill Sculley and her two grandchildren celebrating her birthday in hospital. Picture: Supplied

“My greatest fear is being around a deceased person or having to touch one, but I just had this adrenaline rush, that fear went out the window. We had to spring into action mode.”

And they did. In the dark, on that freezing cold night, the pair managed to move their unconscious grandmother onto her back and begin CPR on the footpath.

“Every time I pushed down, I heard this crack, and it was quite loud, and I knew her ribs were breaking,” Scarlett says.

“That was a bit of a put off, but we knew we had to do it.

“The ambulance lady just said, “stay calm” and I said, ‘I can’t, I think she’s dead.’”

Rose and Scarlett have been Surf Lifesaving members since they were toddlers. They learnt CPR at a VACSWIM SA holiday program in January.

With the guidance of SA Ambulance triple 0 call taker Lauren Van Holten, they managed to perform CPR for eight minutes.

Lauren says it’s the most rewarding emergency she’s ever been involved in.

Scarlett Fay accepts her bravery award from the Governor of South Australia, Frances Adamson AC, and Loreto College principal Kylie McCullah. Picture: Supplied

“The girls were just amazing. They listened to every instruction, they were calm, they did as I asked and asked questions if they weren’t sure,” she says.

“For a child that age to be able to do a compression that effectively is a lot, even a grown adult doing it for three or four minutes is physically exhausting.

“I was counting with them, 1, 2, 3, 4 to get the rhythm going and to encourage them to keep going.

“I just kept reassuring them, you’ll hear the sirens soon, you’re doing the best thing you can to help Nana.

“I have never been so proud of two people I’d never met.”

Lauren met Rose and Scarlett for the first time on Wednesday in an emotion reunion, along with their mum, Lisa.

Lisa knows her elderly mother was extremely lucky to survive.

“In the first week when she came out of a coma in ICU, her heart stopped five times, it was touch and go the whole week,” she says.

“I rang emergency as she was being taken in, they said she wasn’t responsive, and she didn’t have oxygen for quite a significant amount of time. Her heart was beating but it wasn’t looking good.

“The ambulance officers told me the only reason she still had a beating heart was because of the girls.

Scarlett Fay (11) and Rose Fay (12) with Paramedic triple 0 call taker Lauren Van Holten who talked the girls through the CPR to help save their Grandma when she went into cardiac arrest. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“Eight minutes for a trained professional requires an insane amount of energy and the fact they broke 14 ribs showed they did it perfectly.

“She’d stopped breathing, but they managed to pump enough blood to her brain so that she’s not brain dead.”

Lisa’s thankful for the paramedics, a passing police officer and two close friends who got to the scene and supported her daughters that night.

“It was very hard as a mother to know I wasn’t there and that they had to see that,” she says.

“They told me when I spoke to them that night that “Nana had died”, but she didn’t, they saved her life.”

On Tuesday, Rose and Scarlett were presented with school bravery awards by the Governor, Her Excellency, Frances Adamson AC.

“We are incredibly proud, my heart was bursting” Lisa says.

“It was just so nice for them to be recognised for what most adults would not be able to cope with.”

Mrs Scully is now recovering at home in Melbourne after almost six weeks at the Royal Adelaide.

She knows she wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for Rose and Scarlett.

“I think it’s the proudest moment I’ve ever had of anyone, but especially being my two grandchildren that they were capable of saving me,” she says.

“It’s the most precious gift they’ve given me, and I told them that.

“Not many children would be that brave without their mother or father. They’re out on the streets of Adelaide at midnight trying to keep their grandmother alive and they just held their nerve.

Mum Lisa Sculley is extremely proud of her girls. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“Your grandmother, your own flesh and blood, the tenacity and the bravery at midnight was extraordinary.

“I’m blessed that they’re my grandchildren and they saved my life, I would not be here without them.”

She doesn’t recall anything, apart from waking up in the RAH 3 weeks after the incident.

“I literally died for 15 minutes and really everyone thought I’d be a vegetable because no one survives a 15-minute brain injury with no oxygen,” Mrs Sculley says.

“The girls did break 14 ribs, but I didn’t mind, I didn’t feel anything and that saved my life.

“They are extraordinary, I couldn’t have done it myself as an adult, I would have panicked and been too frightened to try.”

Mrs Sculley had two stents inserted during her time at the RAH after major blockages were found. The former music teacher has nothing but praise for the care she received.

“I celebrated my 77th birthday in there and it was the most magnificent one I’ve had,” she says.

“I’d hear the grand piano playing downstairs and I loved it. By the time I left I was playing it every night.

“They were wonderful, it’s a beautiful hospital. I’m so lucky.”

Originally published as Rose and Scarlett Fay saved their grandma Jill Sculley’s life and have now received bravery awards