The value of having trained first responders in the area was highlighted after a teenager collapsed at a barbecue in Dunboyne last Sunday afternoon.
Scott Harkness, (16), was with parents Denise and Pat at the barbecue in neighbour Martin Kelly’s house when he felt unwell.
His dad Pat told Meath Live, ‘He took ill and had what the hospital later told us was a simple faint, but we didn’t know that at the time and the three of us got a fair old fright.
‘Fortunately Martin is a trained first responder and he knew what to do.
‘Scotts blood pressure dropped dramatically but Martin knew exactly how to deal with the situation and at the same time that reassured the rest of us who were starting to be a bit concerned.
‘Martin looked after him until the ambulance arrived and thankfully Scott is grand now.
‘Without a shadow of a doubt it shows the value of having trained first responders in a community as without Martins help and his calming influence we’d have tried our best to help without really knowing what we should be doing.
‘Martin probably won’t like being called a hero but he was definitely heroic.’
