Before spotting a motionless body lying face-up on the oval, Catholic Regional College student Dean Stomilovic was lapping up the sun watching his mates thrash around with a soccer ball.
In a moment of quick thinking, Dean and yard duty teacher Steve Woolmer raced over to find year 11 student Thomas Gebremariam, 16, gasping for breath. Thomas went into cardiac arrest and the pair began CPR.
“I was doing compressions and Steve did mouth to mouth and the situation just escalated from there. We worked as a team and just helped him through it,” said Dean. They carried out CPR procedures until paramedics arrived at the scene about 10 minutes later and resuscitated him.
Fortuitously, Dean had been taught how to perform CPR at his football club in Taylors Lakes, a few months before the March incident.
Last week, Ambulance Victoria recognised Dean’s swift response and life-saving knowledge with a commendation award. Ambulance Victoria’s MICA team manager, Jeff Kenneally, presented him with the honour at a school assembly last Monday.
“He’s recalled the first aid training he did with his football club only a few months earlier and started cardiac pulmonary resuscitation. Those first few minutes made all the difference in saving this young man’s life,” Mr Kenneally said. “It takes a person of character to step up, and often people don’t know they’ve got that character until they’re in a crisis.”
Thomas can’t remember the incident but has since thanked Dean for his courage. He recently returned to school and is in good health.
