JOHANNESBURG - A drowning accident that could have played out awfully was prevented when a mother resuscitated his son back to life before emergency services could arrive.
Thandokazi Nzima had to use the little information she knew and performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on her son, Sekani, after falling into a swimming pool. Nzima managed to pull her son out and administered CPR to have him breathing again.
This would be any parent's nightmare as out of 1484 fatal drownings in South Africa, 450 occur amongst children under 14 years.
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Nzima says during that chaos while praying, doing CPR and asking his son to respond, neighbours heard her and they called for emergency services. An ambulance eventually arrived and he was taken to a pediatric ICU.
Sekani has since made full recovery.
Parademics have praised Nzima for her quick action and knowledge of CPR, which helped to save her son's life. Nzima says at that moment she would have swapped places with her son if she could.
She spoke to us and was accompanied by Netcare 911 spokesperson Sarah Kekana, who explained the importance of knowing CPR as we head into the festive season.