A concerned mother has written to The Clare Herald seeking our reader’s support for a petition calling for first-aid training to be made compulsory for all school teachers.
The petition already has 2000 supporters so far and a group of parents have got together to form a group called Young Hearts N Hands.
Based in Kilkenny, Maria Condon is hoping for support from around the country for the cause.
She explained: “I am the mother of a 6-year-old girl called Isabelle who has apnoea which means she can stop breathing at any stage and has died on several occasions. She was born premature at 28 weeks and the first time she stopped breathing was in her 6 year old brothers arms and he used his CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) training which he learned in the Irish Red Cross to save her live.”
“The real fear hit home with me when Isabelle started school and I released she could actually die in school as the first few seconds are vital to get her back and not all teachers are trained or obliged to save her life.
Recently one 10-year-old child in Co Down died from sudden death Syndrome and there was one near fatal death of a 9-year-old in Dublin but the Principal started CPR straight away and with the use of a defibrillator thankfully that child was saved,” Maria said.
According to the Irish Heart Foundation- 15 people a day die from sudden death syndrome and 125 people die every year from choking.
“I am hoping that all teachers have CPR and first aid training will become compulsory for all teachers and SNAs and will be fully funded by the government and will be known as Isabelle’s Law (The Law that saves children’s lives),” she added.
The petition can be view here