Three Cambridgeshire cadets who have received first aid training recently put their skills to the test to save a friend’s life. Army Cadet Force (ACF) Staff Sergeants Gandy (Ely Detachment) and Enderle (Chesterton), and Air Cadet Ewan (Ely) will be awarded certificates by the Army Cadet Charitable Trust (ACCT) in recognition of their actions.
The three cadets were attending a party to celebrate the end of their GCSEs, when another boy became ill and collapsed. They went to his aid, and on observing the rise and fall of his chest realised he was breathing very erratically, with periods where he was not breathing at all. They called the emergency services who advised them to immediately begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
SSgt Gandy (pictured above) performed the CPR, whilst SSgt Enderle and Air Cadet Ewan monitored his breathing. Gandy said: “After just 10 or 20 seconds he began to breathe again, but he was still unconscious.” Once he was breathing, he vomited very dramatically.
SSgt Enderle asked for a bucket of water and a towel and then cleared the vomit from his mouth to prevent choking and make sure his airway was clear. SSgt Enderle and Air Cadet Ewan helped Gandy to get the casualty into the recovery position, whilst they continued to monitor his breathing.
However, within minutes, the casualty stopped breathing once again. Gandy again performed CPR, resulting in him resuming breathing and giving a response by moving his arm and squeezing one of the cadets’ hands.
When paramedics arrived the cadets were able to brief them about what happened. The casualty was taken to hospital for further care and observation, and quickly made a full recovery.
Cadet SSgt Gandy said: “It was the scariest moment of my life, but looking back at it, I’m very proud of what we did. We worked very well as a team. The ACF has grown my confidence as a leader, but it has also taught us all to work together. I wouldn’t have been able to do it alone.”
Cdt SSgt Enderle agreed, saying: “We were able to work together and communicate clearly because of our cadet training. The ACF has given me the skills and the confidence I needed, and allowed me to discover things in myself that I didn’t know I could do.”
All three cadets will receive well deserved Meritorious or Praiseworthy Action Certificates from the ACCT. Alan Sharkey MBE CStJ TDLt Col (Retd), Honours and Awards Manager with ACCT UK, said “The Meritorious Action certificate for Cdt SSgt Gandy reflects that he carried out the CPR. The Meritorious Action certificate is the higher of the two awards available from ACCT UK, and is scarcely given.”
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