A Scots mum who saved a child from drowning in a Glasgow park has been nominated for a prestigious award. The Record reported last year how Victoria Crane, 27, sprung into action after seeing the two-year-old girl face down in the pond in Victoria Park.
Victoria, from Milngavie, was in the West End park celebrating her birthday when she heard a commotion coming from the pond. The mum, who works as a carer, raced to the scene and provided vital first aid after the girl's body was pulled from the water by a man.
She is now a finalist for the Scottish First Aid Awards after she was nominated by her partner, Craig Donnelly. Victoria told Glasgow Live: "I never wanted to receive any plaudits for my actions but it does feel nice to be recognised. Obviously the most important thing is that the wee girl is still alive.".
Speaking about the terrifying incident, she said: "Instinct kicked in and I ran over because we were the closest people to him. She was choking on water. I put her over my knee to try help her bring up as much water as possible. The wee girl was slipping in and out of consciousness.
"I stripped all her wet clothes off and used the man's jacket to keep her warm. I lay her flat on her back and at this point I already got someone to phone an ambulance and another person was off getting the defibrillator.
"I was then checking her airways for any blockages but I couldn't get her mouth opened very well, it was kind of locked. I could see she was really struggling. I work in care so I've seen people die, I could see she was going. Her breathing was becoming very shallow and she was losing her colour.
"After five to 10 minutes I had to start giving her CPR. After giving mouth-to-mouth and CPR she let out a groan and that's when the ambulance took over. The wee girl was the same age as my youngest.
"When she got in the back of the ambulance I heard her screaming out, crying. The people from the ambulance came to thank me and said I saved this wee girl's life and that she was going to be fine when she gets to hospital."
Victoria explained that she suffered trauma from the incident for a while as she came to the realisation that, without her help, the girl could have lost her life. She continued: "At the time I was so focused. I was in the zone but as soon as the paramedics took over it hit me. I couldn't breathe, the adrenaline hit me all at the same time, I was in shock. I didn't sleep great for two weeks after it because you constantly think what if."
Victoria learned her lifesaving CPR skill at college and is now given a yearly refresher at work She believes it's "really important" for people to know how to perform the technique, as you never know when you might need it.
The mum said: "There are so many situations when you could be out doing your day-to-day things and someone could have a heart attack. Those basics could save a life."
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