2018 Bravery Awards - Alison Brewer
At our recent Royal Life Saving Bravery Awards we gave well deserved recognition to 45 brave life savers. One of those to receive an award was Alison Brewer, who was awarded a Gold Medallion for her efforts in assisting a cyclist by administering first aid and saving his life.
In December 2017 Alison witnessed a male cyclist collapse over his handlebars and collide with a barrier fence, on the Reid Highway Overpass cycleway near the Mitchell Freeway in Balcatta.
Alison had just left friends during her morning ride and was making her way home to get ready for work. She’d decided to take a different route to avoid built-up traffic and this decision put her in the right place at the right time to save this man’s life!
Alison stopped and assisted the man, who was unresponsive and showed no signs of life. She followed the DRSABCD procedure and called Triple Zero.
Alison gave the details to the Triple Zero operator and then took further instructions from them. She was told get the man onto a flat hard surface, but as his helmet was wedged in the barrier fence and he had a backpack on, she had the remove the helmet and backpack before manoeuvring the unconscious man onto the footpath. Alison then commenced CPR.
Another passer-by, Clive, who was driving to work, pulled his vehicle over as he had seen what was happening. Alison gave Clive a quick roadside CPR lesson so that he could assist her. The pair performed CPR for an estimated 14 minutes until the Paramedics arrived, took over the man’s treatment and loaded him into an ambulance, administering three shocks from a defibrillator before taking him to hospital.
The man had no identification on him and police had to issue a media alert in an effort to get a family member or friend to identify him. It was discovered the man’s name was Merrick, and that he was a husband & father. He was is a serious but stable condition in hospital but had survived thanks to the quick actions of Alison and the skills she had learned during a Royal Life Saving Provide First Aid course in 2016.
The Royals commend Alison on her quick thinking and life-saving actions and congratulate her on her well-deserved Gold Medallion Award.
If you would like to nominate someone for next year’s Bravery Awards, please click on the following link.
