Shaun Paul, Advanced Life Support Paramedic and Operations Manager, Netcare 911, Ballito, saved a drowning father from turbulent seas.
Shaun Paul
Drowning Father
6 March 2009. Netcare 911 operations manager Shaun Paul received a call of a drowning in progress at Umdhloti beach. A tropical low off Madagascar was causing monster waves which battered the KwaZulu-Natal coast, threatening people in the normally placid tidal pool at Umdhloti.
A 50 year old man drowned when he was swept out to sea and a similar fate awaited the young family of Umbilo. When Shaun received the emergency call from the call centre, the husband, his wife and their six year old son were fighting for their lives as they were dragged out of the Umdhloti tidal pool by a huge swell. By the time Shaun reached Umdhloti, lifeguards on surf skis had managed to rescue mother and son.
The father, however, was in serious trouble, floating facedown in the rough sea when Shaun arrived at the scene. He assessed the situation and determined that mom and son were not in need of immediate medical attention.
The lifeguards were exhausted and cut by the sharp rocks from rescuing mom and son and not strong enough to help the father who by now was drifting some 100 metres away from the shore. Using his knowledge of the currents and rip tides at Umdhloti, Shaun had to make quick decisions. He realized that the lifeguards had no strength left and that the father was drifting further out to sea.
“I’m certainly not a good swimmer, but I had to take the risk to save another man’s life,” says Shaun.
Removing unnecessary clothing, he grabbed a torpedo buoy from one of the lifeguards and ran into the surf.
“I managed to pull the father from the sea after 5 minutes. He was unconscious when we reached the shore,” says Shaun.
He resuscitated and stabilized the exhausted, semi-drowned man on the beach and rushed him to Hospital where he was in ICU for two days.
“It was one of the busiest days in the history of the unit, because of the high seas,” says Yolande Geringer, manager of the Accident and Emergency Unit at Umhlanga Hospital.
“We had 9 genuine P1’s (serious emergency cases) and one death that weekend,” she says. “Shaun stayed with us for a few more hours to lend a hand to the staff who were run off their feet.”
“I haven’t done anything special,” says Shaun, “This is what we do every day. It’s a passion, a calling – not just a job.”
For going beyond the call of duty to save the life of a total stranger, Shaun Paul is a deserving nominee in the Centrum® Guardian Project.
