Girl with cerebral palsy and no emergency experience makes lifesaving call

But when her father, Dean, collapsed on his front lawn last Tuesday while playing with his developmentally delayed daughter, Bethany knew instinctively she had to act.

In an action praised by paramedics, she ran four houses down from her Albert Street home and asked neighbour Kelly Corcoran to get help.

“She came rushing down and said something was wrong with her dad,” Miss Corcoran said.

Goulburn Ambulance Inspector Martin Cutler said the result “could have been very different” but for Bethany’s quick thinking.

It was all the more remarkable to her dad, knowing his daughter, a Crescent School student, has mild cerebral palsy.

“I’m very proud of her because we only moved here from Queanbeyan six months ago for a fresh start and we have no family in Goulburn,” the single father said.

“Bethany is friends with Kelly’s daughter, Zoe, so she felt safe running there.”

All he remembers is a sharp pain in his arms and chest before collapsing under a tree. Ambulance officers treated him at the scene and he was taken to Goulburn Base Hospital where he underwent several tests before “talking doctors into letting [him] go home” that night to be close to Bethany.

Mr Reed believed his collapse was related to his blood pressure medication, but was awaiting confirmation. Either way, he’s grateful to Bethany and the paramedics, who he said were “brilliant”.

Equally, he can’t praise Miss Corcoran highly enough. Her daughter, Zoe, comforted a “distressed” Bethany inside while ambulance officers treated her father. Miss Corcoran also looked after the 10-year-old and later took her to the hospital to see her dad. 

“...If it wasn’t for Bethany, I don’t think he would be here today… She did it all off her own bat,” Miss Corcoran said.

“It’s the first time I’ve had to deal with anything like it… I didn’t know whether it was a stroke or heart attack. I think it’s good for people to get to know their neighbours, especially for situations like this.”