A young opera singer has sprung into action this morning, performing CPR on a man after witnessing him collapse in Mona Vale.
Freddy Shaw, 21, was on his way to a concert examination at the University of Sydney when he witnessed a man collapse across from Mona Hotel at Village Park, Park Street, 11:15am. Wasting no time, he immediately rushed to help.
“He basically just fell straight onto his front and onto his head, and it looked quite concerning from there. His body was shaking quite a lot; obviously, there was something very wrong,” Freddy told us.
“I just rushed over, and I put him into a recovery position as I was calling triple zero. It was quite a difficult scene.”
Shaw was instructed by the emergency operator to count the breaths. He recited it was once every 10 to 15 seconds, the operator quickly recognising this as a potential heart problem. It was at this point he was told to conduct CPR, an exercise he hadn’t performed since his scouts and surf life-saving days over a decade ago.
The Mona Vale local relied on his old training and listened to instructions carefully as he performed chest compressions while bystanders rushed to the nearest B-line bus stop to retrieve a public defibrillator to help resuscitate the man. We understand a Council ranger took over at one point to provide respite.
Paramedics arrived on the scene five minutes later to take over, the man now conscious and sustaining a head injury; the 21-year-old stuck around to assist the man in any way he could. He then made his examination on time.
When asked how he thinks his exam went, following an understandably distressing event, Shaw calmly responded, “Yeah, it was good.” The aspiring opera singer said his experience performing kept his nerves at bay, helping him keep a cool head in high-pressure situations.
It’s not often you hear of a young man pursuing opera singing as a career; Shaw acknowledges his chosen trajectory is quite “tricky” in Australia as the opportunities are not as vast as they are in Europe. Still, he has been a fan of the art form as well as classical music since he was a kid and wanted to pursue something he was passionate about. He is also currently a scholar at Pinchgut Opera. It’s worth noting Freddie did not volunteer his heroism, it was the bystanders who let us know about his efforts. One told us, “when I arrived Freddie had started CPR.. He was a deadset legend, a young hero.”
The man who collapsed was in his 50s and was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital with injuries listed as a head strike. Manly Observer is waiting for an update on his condition. However, he was last reported as conscious and breathing by himself, with many thanks to the collaborative efforts of the public, paramedics on scene, and Shaw’s quick actions.
“I think I was lucky enough to be in a good headspace. I was able to just get straight into what I needed to do to help the poor man,” He said.
