A heroic builder has told how he was “terrified” as he fought to resuscitate a stranger’s unconscious child in an Australian supermarket.
CCTV footage shows Rowan O’Neill leaping to the rescue of two-year-old Shaylar Collard, who had collapsed and was not breathing.
As the toddler’s mother, Amy Collard, ran outside the Perth store to fetch husband Michael Narkle, Mr O’Neill began trying to clear the girl’s airways before starting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
“I was just doing some shopping (and) the mother came by and starting screaming: ‘Somebody help me, my baby, my baby’s not breathing’,” he said.
Mr O’Neill said he had received basic training in resuscitation while at school but thought he had forgotten what to do.
“I was very terrified,” he said. “It was one of those situations where you don’t know how it’s going to turn out. It’s the best possible outcome we could have hoped for at that time.”
He said Shaylar’s father had been euphoric when his daughter eventually began breathing again.
He added: “He was saying thank you. He was extremely grateful.
“He gave me a big hug, he’s a very strong man. We were just very overjoyed about the situation, that she had come back.
“I think there’s not much that could (match) up to this. I … think that if I live to be 100, if I never have to deal with something like this again, I’ll die a happy man.”
Content Submission: Lucy Taylor
Kindness Blog 
Wonderful story, and we can all do this for each other.
Learning CPR isn’t that complicated. In fact, there are training videos on the American Heart Association website. Look for the song to help set the pace for adults – “Staying Alive!” and hands-free CPR.
The other important thing is to stay present. I walked into a post office last year to see a woman laying on the floor and many people standing around not knowing what to do. I and one other person started CPR and kept the woman going until the ambulance could come.
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Everyone should do first aid. He is a hero, well done rowan x
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Wow what a story! It is easy to be too scared to do anything, but look what jumping in and trying can result in. None of us really know what we are doing most of the time – but the difference is in the action! What an awesome guy!
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Reblogged this on Night Life Chronicles.
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