A TEENAGE cadet put her first aid skills into practice after her dad was covered in shattered glass during a fall.
Jessica Lapslie, 14, of Chase Gardens, Westcliff, calmly rushed to help her dad Edward after glass shards become wedged in his hand and face.
He was adjusting a glass cooker hood, which had caused the electricity to go off at the family home, when he slipped and fell from a kitchen unit onto the floor.
The glass hood became detached and fell with him, breaking on impact and scattering glass fragments across the kitchen.
Edward landed on his right side, with broken glass embedded in his hand and cheek.
Jessica, a St John Ambulance cadet based at the Hawkwell and Hockley unit, was at home at the time and took control of the situation.
She manoeuvred her dad into a chair, reassured him, and told him the glass should not be removed- something she remembered from her first aid training.
Some of the fragments in his hand were very close to vital tendons, and there was also a lot of blood around the wounds.
Jessica knew her painter and decorator father could not afford to damage his tendons.
She bandaged his hand, held it upright and insisted he went to A&E so the glass could be taken out properly.
Proud mum Julie said Jessica kept the family calm during the stressful ordeal.
She said: “Jessica was absolutely brilliant in what could have been a very serious incident. She put the first aid she has been learning from St John Ambulance over the past three years into practice and kept her dad calm.
“Fortunately the injuries he sustained were minimised thanks to her quick thinking. We’re both so proud of her.”
Ian Callaghan, St John Ambulance’s youth manager in the East of England, said Jessica is a great example of why it’s so important young people know first aid.
He said: “We are extremely proud of Jessica’s actions helping her dad. This is a great example of the benefits of young people learning first aid skills.”
Janice Elderton-Lewis, manager of the Hawkwell and Hockley Cadet unit, added: “At times Jessica has worked alongside the youth team at the Hawkwell and Hockley unit, helping to support and teach other cadets to enhance their knowledge as well as her own.
Great use of first aid skills by a junior member of the community. One day she will be running first aid courses much like we do at Canberra First Aid. Well done to her parents for signing her up to a program so great. If only in Australia they had a similar first aid courses which helped school students get trained over a longer period of time.