Hero award for saving mum

By Sarah Schwager
A HAMPTON Park girl is a true young hero.
Melissa Blackburn was last week awarded a Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) Community Hero Award for her actions that saved her mother’s life.
The 15-year-old was over the moon and very surprised when she found out a couple of weeks ago that she had been nominated for the award by paramedic Greg Nicholls who attended Melissa’s house more than a year ago.
Melissa was just 14 and getting ready for school in the morning when her mother called her on her mobile from her bedroom.
“She said she couldn’t breathe and told me to call an ambulance,” she said.
Melissa called an ambulance and rushed into her mother’s room to find that she had collapsed during an asthma attack.
“Her heart stopped beating and she was going blue.”
She performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and expired air resuscitation (EAR) until the ambulance arrived.
She then provided the paramedics with her mother’s medication and medical details.
Melissa learnt the lifesaving skills at her school, Hampton Park Secondary College.
“We do an updated course every year,” she said.
In nominating Melissa for the award, Mr Nicholls described her as “a true life saver”.
Melissa was one of 10 Victorians to be awarded at a special awards ceremony last Thursday at Queens Hall, Parliament House, by Community Services Minister Gavin Jennings.
The 10 heroes were selected from more than 70 nominations by paramedics over the past year.