Local lifesaver lends support
Two Reading men have joined forces with
St John Berkshire to encourage more people in the Royal County to
learn vital first aid skills.
Severed femoral artery
Steve Blethyn and Andy
Shillito met when Andy fell off of his bike whilst cycling
along Oxford Road in Reading. He
severed his femoral artery in his leg and lost more than 6
pints of blood. Mr Blethyn, who luckily remembered some
first aid from his army days rushed to Mr Shillito's aid and
managed to stem the bleeding and keep him
conscious until the paramedics arrived.
It was amazing when Andy had his accident people clearly didn't have a clue what to do to help him. They were literally crossing the road to avoid the situation and it would have been terrible if Andy had lost his life because so many people lack first aid skills
Steve Blethyn
Lifesaver and Fundraiser
Since making a full recovery from his accident, Andy along with
Steve has attended a St John Ambulance first aid course so
that should he come across someone in need he will be able to stop
and save a life in the same way that Steve saved
his.
Steve said, 'It was amazing that when Andy had his accident
people clearly didn't have a clue what to do to
hep him. They were literally crossing the road to
avoid the situation and it would have been terrible if Andy had
lost his life because so many people lack first aid
skills.'
Andy was a little apprehensive when attending
the course that he would not remember the skills that he had learnt
'Since taking the course a work colleague sprained their ankle and
asked for my help and it all came flooding back to
me.'
The pair wish to help raise both funds for and awareness of St
John Ambulance. Steve has already become a
volunteer so he is able use his first aid skills
on a regular basis and is also planning an
expedition to climb the worlds highest mountains
and ski to the South Pole.
To support Steve please visit his website www.steveblethyn.co.uk