A Good Samaritan who delivered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a boy struck by lightning on Australia Day says he was thrilled to hear the boy had survived.
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The 10-year-old victim was swimming at Little Lake at Warilla Beach in NSW about 5.20pm last Thursday when he was struck by a lone lightning strike - a so-called "bolt from the blue" - causing his heart to go into cardiac arrest and his breathing to stop.
As the boy's father pulled him from the water, Wongawilli construction business owner Chris Grech - who had his own three sons on the beach with him - ran to help the motionless little figure.
The boy had a telltale web of purple bruising on his body.
Mr Grech had tears in his eyes and was inwardly urging the boy on - "wake up!" - as he attempted to save a life.
"He was only a very small boy, very skinny build. He had no pulse," said Mr Grech, who has no medical background but attended First Aid training when he formerly worked as a diving instructor.
"He had a wound on his left-hand side next to his heart, like a purple mark.
"It went from his heart over his shoulder all the way up his neck to his ear. It was like a vein, purple, protruding out."
Mr Grech gave mouth-to-mouth breaths alongside lifeguards and an off-duty doctor who performed compressions, until lifeguards were able to replace the breaths with oxygen. Paramedics soon arrived and took over.
Mr Grech and his cousin, Flinders mum Helen Kaufusi, were part of a large extended family group joining a large crowd of people on the beach that day.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Chris had gone - he'd just gunned it. He ran over, ran through the water.
Mrs Kaufusi described seeing her cousin react immediately to the emergency, as she and others were still reeling from the fright of the lightning bolt.
"We got all the kids out [of the water] because it [the sky] turned grey. But we looked at the radar; there was nothing. My husband said, 'no, it [the storm] will go past us'," she said.
"Then we heard this crack. We've all heard lightning and thunder, but I kid you not: this one hit your soul.
"My kids jumped up and screamed. My cousin - her shoe flew off and hit the kid in front of her.
"Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Chris had gone - he'd just gunned it. He ran over, ran through the water.
"Of everywhere in the world, that poor boy was in the way of that lightning."
Ms Kaufusi said her extended family, including some in Malta, had been praying for the boy.
She praised the boy's parents, who the Mercury understands had recently moved to Australia from the UK, for keeping such close watch on him, so that he didn't drown once struck unconscious.
Lifeguards and an off-duty doctor worked to revive him. He was responsive - breathing and making small movements - when he was placed in an induced coma and taken by road ambulance to The Children's Hospital at Westmead.
His future remained uncertain until Tuesday, when he was taken off mechanical ventilation.
Doctors have since described his condition as "neurologically normal".
He will receive ongoing treatment for burns of varying depth to his upper chest, back and leg.
On Thursday, a hospital spokesperson said the boy was in a stable condition.
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Angela Thompson
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
