We would like to extend a little community love to Dee Why resident Matt Irwin, our humble hero who brought an unconscious man to shore at Shelly Beach today and called Triple Zero.
We were pleased to hear through little birdies this afternoon that the 60-year-old patient was awake and feeling in good spirits in hospital after some sort of medical episode occurred this morning while he was swimming with his family.
We took this photo of Matt once the scene had cleared and asked him what had occurred. He said the man lost consciousness, regained it then collapsed again so he helped him out of the water and called emergency. We told him we would only use his photo and share the story if we found out the bloke was now okay, and promised to track him down and ask his permission again once the shock had worn off. (A promise we kept of course!)
Matt insisted he did very little and the real heroes were the rescue team that arrived within minutes and managed the whole incident with calm and compassion.
The ambulance officers, the police, and even the beachgoers who held up towels to provide shade for the patient. What a great community and what a relief that a scary morning has ended well.
And good on ya Matt !
