There was a piercing scream from somewhere at the bottom of the rocks. Then a lot of shouting
"Help, Help, He's hurt. Someone help him"
At first we couldn't see what had happened or where the screams were coming from. Itchy jumped up and ran to the edge and looked over. I was a few steps behind him. We could see the kids all pointing into the water, there was a young boy who looked like he was unconscious and was bobbing about in the water. His mates couldn't get to where he was because of the rocks and waves. Liam didn't hesitate and dashed off to the path leading down to the beach, he shouted for me to call the emergency services. I told him to be careful. I grabbed my phone from my bag and made my way down after Itchy, going as fast as I could but also trying to make sense and give clear information to the operator. By the time I reached where the boys were Liam was up on higher rocks just above the cliff. He was surveying the water.
"Be careful" I yelled.
"Its ok, we do training here all the time" he smiled at me and then jumped off the ledge into the water. I know he's a lifeguard, I know he's a strong swimmer but I was still terrified. He always told me every rescue carries its risks and anything can go wrong at any time – that's why they train so much. I watched as he made his way from the deep water over to the rocks. The boy, Ryan from the information his friends had told me, had hit his head on something floating in the water. They weren't sure what it was but they heard a thud and then he just went limp in the water. I shouted to Liam the information the boys had given. A couple of surfers had heard the shouts and were paddling over to help. Liam got to Ryan and with the help of the surfers loaded him onto one of their boards. He jumped on too and began CPR, and chest compressions. I saw the young boy cough and splutter, I choked back the tears as I saw him come to life. They rolled him in a careful manoeuvre onto his side (making sure his neck and spine stayed in position) so he could spit out the water in his airway.
I asked Ryan's friends his parents phone number, so I could call and let them know. I tried calling a couple of times but there was no reply. The boys told me that Ryan's mum would be at work, they didn't know the name of the place but they knew where it was. I asked them to go and tell her to go to the hospital. I took a Post-It pad from my bag and wrote my phone number on it, I asked the boys to get her to call me so I could give her the information and try to reassure her. The last thing I wanted was for her to panic and get into an accident herself.
Between Itchy and the 2 surfers they managed to get Ryan on shore a few hundred yards up the coast. I grabbed my small towel and ran to the little inlet where they were. I rolled it out lengthways and then rolled it into a sausage.
"Here" I said handing it to Itchy "use this as a neck brace until the ambo gets here"
"Wow" he said "good thinking".
I also passed him a hair scrunchie from my bag to tie the ends together. The three guys lifted the surfboard with Ryan loaded on it and started walking towards the roadway. Itchy was very familiar with the area and knew exactly where the ambulance would go to. The whole time they were walking, Itchy was talking to Ryan, keeping him calm. Telling him everything would be ok. Asking him questions to keep him conscious and assess his condition. By the time they'd reached the road the ambulance crew were there. Itchy passed on all the details he'd managed to find out, even joking that he wasn't a Rabbitohs fan but he saved him anyway. Even Ryan managed to laugh at that. Malcolm the paramedic, knew Itchy and he asked if the towel was his idea.
"No" he said "that was my girlfriend here, Alex". He put an arm around me and pulled me in for a hug.
"Well that was a pretty good idea, you may have helped prevent any further spinal damage with that brainwave" he said. He loaded Ryan into the back of the ambulance.
"Who's coming with him?" Malcolm said.
"Err, his friends have gone to his mums work" I said. I looked at Itchy.
"You go with him" I said "He already knows you. We can't send him on his own, someone should be with him til his mum arrives. I'll drive the truck and meet you there"
"You're amazing" he said as he kissed me.
"You're the one that saved his life" I said "You're the hero".
