Omarama student receives bravery award

The St John Community Education Team and major partner ASB presented the now 11-year-old Arabella Thomas with an ASB Super Saver Bravery Award on 25 July during a special assembly at Omarama School.

On the evening of 14 March, Arabella and her mother Kerryn Thomas were riding their horses along the Ahuriri River when Kerryn was knocked off, resulting in four fractures in her spine.

Arabella quickly sprang into action to get help for her mum, who was unable to move.

“I tied the horses up and grabbed mum’s phone but it didn’t have any reception,” she says.

Arabella then made the quick decision to leave Kerryn where she was and run out to the road to flag down a passing car.

Kerryn says if it wasn’t for her daughter keeping calm and getting help as quickly as she did, she might have ended up spending several hours out in the cold.

“Arabella’s fast actions meant that we were able to get help before it got too dark,” she says.

Charlotte Derosa, St John Twizel Station, Operations Support Office and FENZ Omarama medical first responder was first on the scene, followed by Steve Lennon and Karin Cochrane who arrived in the ambulance a little while later.

Kerryn was transported to Timaru Hospital where she was treated for a broken spine before spending several months rehabilitating at home to get moving again.

“I’m so grateful to Arabella for the way she remained so calm and collected,” Kerryn says.

St John head of community education, Jacci Tatnell says Arabella’s actions are an example of how young children can save lifes.

“Arabella’s actions affirms the importance of teaching basic first aid to every child in New Zealand. That is why we are committed to delivering our ASB St John in Schools programme to tamariki throughout Aotearoa.

“We know that equipping children with the skills and confidence to take action in an emergency will save lives and build stronger, more resilient communities,” says Tatnell.

Every month St John Ambulance Communications centres can receive as many as fifty 111 emergency calls from children who are often calling in traumatic circumstances where a loved one has fallen or is unconscious, and there are no other adults in the house, she says.

To date, more than 900,000 students have completed the ASB St John in Schools programme since 2015. With support from ACC, the common goal is to deliver to a total of one million New Zealand students (pre-school through to intermediate) by 2023.