Boy’s Lifesaving Skills Pay Off
How would you react if you were a 12-year-old boy and your 5-year-old sister began to choke? If you were like Victor Beaumont Brown, you would know exactly what to do.
Victor was awakened one Saturday morning when his sister Mikaela began punching him uncontrollably. She couldn’t talk and was grasping her throat.
Victor leapt into action. A few weeks earlier, he had taken a Canadian Red Cross Babysitter’s Course offered through the Scotia Pool in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia. He immediately used abdominal thrusts to dislodge the blockage in Mikaela’s throat. When the first try didn’t work, he gave it a second go. He then took his sister —who was turning blue by this time—to the kitchen and gave her three more thrusts. She ran into the bathroom, vomited, and began to breath.
Having overheard the ruckus, Victor and Mikela’s father Reg thought that his children had simply had a fight, but soon realized that his son had calmly put his first aid skills to work to save his sister’s life.
Monica Croft, aquatics manager at the Scotia Pool, remembers well the babysitting course when she taught Victor last March break. It was her first time teaching the course and the two boys in the class seemed quiet and overshadowed by the 10 girls. “Most parents don’t think about putting boys into these courses,” said Croft. “What Victor learned was helpful at home, as well as in a babysitting environment.”
The experience has also changed the way Croft views first aid courses for young people. “It’s difficult to know what this particular age group absorbs,” she remarks. “Although they seem like they don’t understand, they do. A major bonus is that this training has also given Victor faith in himself. He’s learned a life skill—and at the same time built self-esteem and self-worth.”
Each year, Red Cross trains thousands of young people like Victor in the first aid skills they need to save a life. The Scotia Pool has been an Authorized Provider of the Red Cross First Aid program for almost two years.
In recognition of Victor’s achievements, he has been nominated for a Red Cross national award.
