A QUICK-thinking teenager who saved her father’s life after a horrifying chainsaw accident has been nominated for a national award.
Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Cleasby from Wolvey is on the shortlist for a St John Ambulance Everyday Heroes Award for using her first aid skills to rescue dad Neil, who was chopping down a tree with a chainsaw in June last year when the ladder slipped from under him.
He fell ten feet and the falling chainsaw caused two deep cuts to his arm, resulting in severe bleeding.
Cool-headed medical school hopeful Charlotte kept calm, elevated her Dad’s arm, applied direct pressure and used clean tea towels to make a tourniquet to stem the blood loss.
By the time paramedics arrived, the bleeding had stopped. The ambulance crew later told Charlotte’s mother that if she had not reacted so quickly, her father could have died.
Charlotte has been nominated for the Guy Evans Young Hero of the Year Award – named after a 17-year-old who died following a suspected heart arrhythmia when first aid could have saved his life – which recognises young people who have made an extraordinary first aid achievement.
Charlotte, currently studying for her A-levels at King Henry VIII School in Coventry, said: “I am honoured to be a finalist for this award. However, I only did what everyone would have done in this situation.
“I have had quite a lot of experience in medical situations as I am preparing my admission for medical school so I got the chance to put some of the things I have learned into practice.
“I am delighted to have helped my dad and have warned him against such dangerous pursuits in the future.”
Charlotte’s Dad Neil said: “I am very proud of Charlotte and it is fantastic that she is a finalist for this award.
“Without her quick thinking and calmness under pressure I am not sure it would have ended well for me. Her first aid training saved the day.”
The St John Ambulance Everyday Heroes Awards is the charity’s yearly celebration of ordinary people who have taken extraordinary actions to help someone in need.
Over 50 finalists have been nominated, including a postman who saved a young man who was hit by a car, an engineer who sprang into action when an explosion tore through his worksite, and a woman who campaigns for defibrillators following the death of her rugby player husband.
Charlotte will attend the star studded award ceremony in London in September, hosted by presenter and musician Myleene Klass, who saved her own daughter from choking using first aid.
Visit www.sja.org.uk/everydayheroes to vote for Charlotte. Voting closes at midnight on July 31.
