Far out, great work by those that have obviously attended a first aid course in the recent past. That fast acting from the locals has saved this mans life. Our thoughts are with him and his family. We hope that you are prepared for any first aid course you attend and ready for any emergency you come across. Book in to a first aid course at your local provider now.
By Casey Briggs and staff Updated Sun 19 Feb 2017, 12:31am
The friends of a man who was bitten multiple times on the leg by a shark in waters off far north Queensland saved his life with their rapid first aid response, paramedics say. Cairns resident Glenn Dickson was spearfishing with three friends off Hinchinbrook Island, which lies east of Cardwell, when he was attacked about 10:30am. Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokesman Martin Taylor said the 25yearold suffered severe blood loss with multiple bites to his left femur and calf and lost consciousness. “The friends have immediately pulled him out of the water and applied emergency first aid,” Mr Taylor said. “They put a tourniquet up high and tight on his femur and stopped the subsequent bleeding which was quite significant. “The initial actions by the three friends have definitely saved this gentleman’s life.” QAS senior operations supervisor Neil Noble said one of the friends was an exnaval officer with medical training. “This is a really good case where simple first aid can absolutely save a life and that’s what happened,” he said. “This is really a remarkable story and it’s quite rare and we’re really pleased that this gentleman will very likely have a positive outcome.” Mr Dickson was brought to shore by a boat and treated by paramedics on a jetty before a rescue helicopter arrived to fly him to Cairns Hospital. He was met by family on the helipad before going into surgery. “They’re pleased, they realised how close to the wire this came,” Mr Noble said. Mr Dickon went into surgery in a critical but stable condition. It was believed he was bitten by either a bull shark or a tiger shark. Topics: shark, animalattacks, humaninterest, cardwell4849 First posted Sat 18 Feb 2017, 12:05p