A Steenberg mother has praised a voluntary paramedic who did a “fantastic job” in preventing further injuries after her daughter fell off a moving bakkie.
Desiré Symon, said her daughter Maya, 8, climbed onto the back of an open bakkie on Tuesday November 3 when a man offered a few children in the area a ride on his vehicle in Sullivan Street.
Unfortunately, the man pulled away before Maya could sit down and she fell off the back of the bakkie and injured her head.
She suffered a cracked skull and has a blood clot on the brain.
While waiting for an ambulance to arrive volunteer paramedic, Ezra Fredericks, immediately sprang into action.
Mr Fredericks, of Retreat, has been a volunteer paramedic for 23 years and registered during the start of lockdown with the Department of Health.
He said when he got to the scene Ms Symon and Maya were in a panic.
“The girl was lying in the middle of the road calling out ‘my head, my head’. When I approached her she was kicking and moving her arms and legs. I noticed that she was confused after I introduced myself and she didn’t say anything.
“I asked the mother to hold her daughter’s head and I did what you call a blanket roll where I put a collar around her neck to prevent her from further injuries as she was kicking.
“When the ambulance came I did a hand-over and told the paramedics what had happened. I turned her to the side because she was vomiting and this prevented her from swallowing her vomit.”
Ms Symon thanked Mr Fredericks for helping her daughter.
“When Maya fell off Mr Fredericks was the first one to respond. I thank Ezra, for doing a fantastic job. He really helped her when he put her neck in a brace. I would also like to thank the neighbours and everyone who assisted us.”
Ms Symon said she opened a case against the driver after she came back from hospital eight days after the incident.
She said her son Zeke, 11, had also climbed onto the bakkie but did not get hurt.
A scan showed Maya had a blood clot on her brain. “We will have to go for another scan soon but the doctor said we must watch her 24/7. If she
vomits or if she falls on her head again then we need to take her back to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
She is still dizzy and her movements are very slow,” said Ms Symon.
Sergeant Wesley Twigg, spokesperson for Steenberg police, confirmed a case of reckless and negligent driving was opened for investigation.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated,” said Sergeant Twigg.