By Ryan Sands
A LOCAL boy has been praised for saving his younger sister’s life the day after he received first aid training at 1st Newcastle Cubs.
Earlier this month, Jude Rafferty-McCabe, who is aged just 10, quickly identified that his five-year-old sibling, Robyn, was choking on a jelly sweet, forcing him to spring into action.
Speaking to the Mourne Observer, the children’s mum, Kerry Rafferty, explained that she and her son had been sitting in their living room when her daughter “came running over, holding her throat”.
“Jude automatically jumped up and said, ‘I think she is choking’,” she continued.
“He put her on the sofa and gave her five big backslaps, and the sweet just shot out of her mouth.
“At this point, I was sitting there in shock – Jude had already got up and done his first aid, and the sweet was dislodged.
“It took me a while to recover, to be honest with you.
“Everything just clicked in, and he automatically knew what to do.”
Less than 24 hours earlier, the Newcastle boy had attended his weekly Cubs meeting in Valentia Place, at which Caroline Boyd of Mini First Aid delivered a timely first aid class.
Kerry said that what subsequently transpired in her home had illustrated perfectly the benefits of such training.
“It really does,” she stressed.
“I was sitting there and it took a while to kick in for me, but Jude was straight in there.
“Mini First Aid have a certain way of presenting the first aid to children, and, obviously, it stuck with him.
“If people know of that service, they can get young people to avail of it.
“Look what happened to us – the next day, my wee girl was choking, and Jude was able to step up and save her life.
“Honestly, he did do that.
“I hate saying it, and I am still traumatised by it, to be honest with you.”
Kerry described her son as “a great wee boy”, adding that the whole family circle is beyond proud of him. “‘Proud’ is an understatement,” she stated.
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