HuffPost UK is the media partner for the St John Ambulance Everyday Heroes awards on 7 October, celebrating the nation’s life savers, health heroes and community stars. In this interview series we speak to people whose lives were saved, alongside those who saved them.
A teenager who rushed to help his younger brother who became impaled on his bike’s handlebars has been honoured with a Young Hero award from St John Ambulance.
Jack Smith, 15, from Leeds, was one of four young people given the award at the Everyday Heroes ceremony on Monday night.
The teenager was praised for his quick-thinking actions when his younger brother, Connor, sustained life-threatening injuries after crashing his BMX last year.
Connor, who was only 13 at the time, severed his femoral vein (located in the upper thigh and pelvic region) during the crash. Army cadet and big brother Jack, then 14, rushed to help.
He saw that Connor was bleeding heavily from his stomach and groin so ripped off his shirt and put pressure on the wound to stem the blood flow, while calling for emergency help. He continued to apply pressure to the horrific wound, reassuring his brother until the ambulance arrived.
He collected the award for his outstanding bravery and first aid skills at the ceremony, held by St John Ambulance in central London. Thanks to Jack, Connor is on the road to full recovery.
The Everyday Heroes awards honour people who have stepped up to save the lives of others in times of trouble.
Logan Chatfield also won a Young Hero award this year – and is one of the youngest ever recipients to do so. He was just 10 years old when he helped save his grandad, who was suffering a heart attack.
The youngster, now 11, told HuffPost UK how he rushed to help his grandad, Paul Walsh, when he collapsed on their family sofa last year. He had only learned the first aid procedure for heart attacks a week before, as part of his training to become a St John Ambulance Cadet.
“I put him in the W position, helped him sit up, and also loosened his top, because he was wearing a shirt. I loosened the top of his collar, his chest and his belt,” Logan told HuffPost UK.
Logan’s nan was also at home at the time, but he said she was “upset, worried, and rushing around,” so he told her to phone 999 and ask for an ambulance – which she did. “She passed me the phone while I was sorting out grandad and I was answering the questions,” he said. “And whilst I was doing that, she went to get the lady next door, who is a nurse, luckily.”
The ambulance arrived 10 minutes later and Paul was taken to hospital, where he made a full recovery. “I feel so lucky because of Logan, obviously, he just took over,” said Paul. “If he hadn’t done what he did, the chances are I might not be here now. As far as I’m concerned, he’s my little hero.”
The third Young Hero award went to two teenage brothers, aged 15 and 16. They helped a neighbour they’d never met who tried to take his own life.
Gabriel Walker, who learned St John Ambulance first aid at army cadets, performed chest compressions on the neighbour, while his brother, Jack, relayed information to and from the emergency services.
St John Ambulance’s Homeless Service in Hastings, which has been improving access to healthcare for homeless and vulnerably-housed people in Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea, won a separate award for its services.
One of the people helped by the service is Chris Panikkou, who battled addiction for a number of years. He was saved by staff after multiple drug overdoses and he credits them with saving his life and helping him on the road to recovery.
Chris explained how, on one occasion, he collapsed at a nearby soup kitchen, where Roger, a nurse coordinator for St John Ambulance, was working at the time.
“Roger had got me into recovery position, called emergency services and saved my life,” said Chris. “That was twice that happened. I wouldn’t be sitting here today talking to you if it wasn’t for St John.”
Other winners at the event included a racecourse groundskeeper who performed CPR on a colleague and two charity volunteers who talked a young suicidal male down from the edge of a cliff.
St John Ambulance’s chief executive, Martin Houghton-Brown, congratulated all the award winners at the ceremony.
“This evening I have had the honour of celebrating with the truly incredible ordinary people whose moments of extraordinary heroism allow us to put their humanity, care and courage in the spotlight,” he said.
To find out more about the Everyday Heroes awards and its winners, visit the website.