Brave 7-year-old saves his father’s life by recalling primary school lessons during a medical emergency

Teaching kids about basic first aid and healthcare in school can always come in handy during times of crisis. Thanks to a 7-year-old's knowledge about health emergencies, the life of a father could be saved in the nick of time. A 44-year-old Australian man named Nick Wilson had just left playing at an arcade on a family vacation in Geelong, Melbourne when he started feeling uneasy all of a sudden, reports ABC News. Wilson felt prickling sensations in his face and he felt something was wrong. "I couldn't breathe properly, and I said to Harry, 'We've got to go mate'," he recalled telling his young son, Harry.

"As we walked across the road, which would have been all of 30 meters, I got very short of breath," Wilson continued. "I felt something was seriously not right here." Wilson understood that he was in the middle of a medical emergency and even managed to dial 000 to call an ambulance but soon after he couldn't stand any longer and collapsed into a seat. Little Harry had to move quickly and do something sensible rather than panicking before the paramedics arrived.

Harry carried on with the call and instructed the ambulance operators regarding where to find him and his father. He mentioned the detailed location of the pair, highlighting certain street signs and nearby shops around their location. Wilson had collapsed near Malop Street in Geelong's central business district. Wilson recalled to the news outlet that nobody in the area stopped to aid him and his son since they were not familiar with the locals. The father said, "It was hard because we aren't from the area, so we weren't familiar with where we were."

The father added of his son's quick actions, "He was on the lookout, he waved them down and ran over and grabbed them. He stayed super calm." The seven-year-old said, "I wasn't too sure what had happened to him," admitting that he was indeed scared but he decided to keep his calm and do what was necessary. He added, "I hoped he was okay." A month before the unfortunate incident, Ambulance Victoria's paramedics had paid a visit to Harry's school where they gave lessons and shared information on what anyone should do during cases of emergency.

"They told me that if you dialed triple-0, and you call us, then there is no matter to be scared," Harry said. "I was trying to see where the ambulance was until I heard a siren, and that's when I waved them down. I was keeping it together." Ambulance Victoria has gone to more than 140 primary schools since 2023 to reach out to approximately 4000 students to educate them about first aid and health emergencies. Amy Brown, a member of the paramedics team who visited Harry's school in Horsham was proud of the youngster's efforts and his ability to stay calm in a dire situation.

"The key message was that paramedics are people that children can trust when their loved ones are hurt," Brown said. "He took that onboard when he helped the paramedics treat his dad by directing them to him and staying calm the whole time." Harry told Sunrise, "I was very scared and didn't what was happening to him." Harry's father was admitted to the emergency department of a hospital for a night but the cause behind his sudden health crisis was not discovered. He was treated with antibiotics and the medics suspected some sort of internal infection. "I ended up seeing a few different GPs and had multiple tests and scans, but they couldn't fault anything," he said while praising his son. "I was lying there and feeling quite sorry for myself, but that day Harry was the hero."

This article originally appeared 8 months ago.