Well, some of us have been suckered into the 'Francesca Worship' cult in the past week, but I have found a NEW heroine for us Forumers.
Samantha Gurdon.
Read the following article, also available at http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10109436%5E26462,00.html
Then tell me...What would you have done?
I once found myself in a situation not dissimilar to the one Samantha faced, at a similar age to her as well. Sadly, the person I tried to help didn't make it, but it wasn't through my lack of effort, I can assure you.
So, I think that after our 'fun with Fran', we should look to this young woman, who (unlike our dear Fran) provides us with an example of what young Aussies should aspire to be like.
Teen braves icy water for stranger
By Amanda Gearing
July 12, 2004
SAMANTHA Gurdon risked her own life to help a stranger lying helpless and semi-conscious at the bottom of a bush cliff.
The fearless 15-year-old Toowoomba student in Queensland swam an icy water hole to get to the girl - something a police officer rejected as too dangerous.
Then she waited hours through a dark and freezing night sharing comfort and body heat while rescuers desperately tried to find a way to get the pair to safety.
But yesterday Samantha said she did not consider her actions unusual and would have found it far worse to have done nothing.
"I didn't do anything miraculous," she said. "It was much better being with her knowing I could do something rather than not knowing what was happening."
Corrie-Anne Mackness, 14, was visiting Crows Nest Falls, north of Toowoomba, from her home in northern NSW when she went rock climbing and fell about 50m down a ravine on Saturday.
She tried to walk but fell again, this time about 15m, and lay helpless with a fractured pelvis and broken bones in her face.
Two friends visiting the falls with her, Brenda, 16, and Tennille, 15, heard branches breaking and went to find Corrie.
Tennille stayed with her while Brenda ran to call an ambulance.
That's when their luck began to improve.
Toowoomba mother Kathryn Gurdon had arrived at the national park with her three children, including daughter Samantha, and the family's newly arrived French exchange student Benedicte Puig, to show their visitor the native rock wallabies.
As they walked along a track, they met Brenda running for help and dialled 000 at 4.15pm while Samantha went ahead, took off her coat and shoes and swam 70m across the deep waterhole until she found a place to climb out.
"It was very cold. By the time I got to the other side I could hardly breathe. My ankles and toes were numb and I was cold and stiff," Samantha said.
"I was a bit scared swimming across because I didn't know if she had minor or really bad injuries, fatal injuries or if she was unconscious. But I knew she was alive."
Corrie-Anne was semi-conscious and Samantha tried to keep her alert by asking her questions and checked to see she could move her toes.
"We had nothing to wrap her in because I was wet and Tennille only had a bikini top on so she kept close to Corrie to keep her as warm as we could," Samantha said.
Emergency workers arrived at the waterhole but a policeman found the water so cold he could not breathe and decided it was too risky to try to swim across. The group then began walking around the rocks to the girls.
A rescue helicopter called to the scene was forced to turn back at 5.30pm because of fog.
When she heard the helicopter was not coming and they might have to wait until first light, Samantha did not tell Corrie-Anne.
"We could hear the SES people above us on the rocks. It was a very big relief when they came," Samantha said.
After the helicopter rescue was abandoned, it was too dark and the wet rocks too slippery for ambulance officers to risk climbing to the rock ledge where the girls were waiting.
Undaunted, rescuers borrowed a canoe and reached the girls at 8pm, paddling each across the waterhole and letting Corrie-Anne down on a hastily built flying fox to the waters edge and into the canoe.
Samantha and Tennille were treated at the scene for hypothermia and Corrie-Anne was taken to Toowoomba Base Hospital at 11.30pm where she underwent surgery yesterday.
Samantha praised rescue workers who kept going until the girls were safe despite the cold, wet and dark conditions.
"If they had waited until first light we would all have had hypothermia and I don't know how Corrie could have coped," she said.
Toowoomba ambulance area director Glen Maule said Samantha had been "very very brave" to swim to Corrie-Anne's rescue but she was incredibly lucky to get across. "She deserves a bravery medal," he said.
The Courier-Mail
Samantha Gurdon.
Read the following article, also available at http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10109436%5E26462,00.html
Then tell me...What would you have done?
I once found myself in a situation not dissimilar to the one Samantha faced, at a similar age to her as well. Sadly, the person I tried to help didn't make it, but it wasn't through my lack of effort, I can assure you.
So, I think that after our 'fun with Fran', we should look to this young woman, who (unlike our dear Fran) provides us with an example of what young Aussies should aspire to be like.
Teen braves icy water for stranger
By Amanda Gearing
July 12, 2004
SAMANTHA Gurdon risked her own life to help a stranger lying helpless and semi-conscious at the bottom of a bush cliff.
The fearless 15-year-old Toowoomba student in Queensland swam an icy water hole to get to the girl - something a police officer rejected as too dangerous.
Then she waited hours through a dark and freezing night sharing comfort and body heat while rescuers desperately tried to find a way to get the pair to safety.
But yesterday Samantha said she did not consider her actions unusual and would have found it far worse to have done nothing.
"I didn't do anything miraculous," she said. "It was much better being with her knowing I could do something rather than not knowing what was happening."
Corrie-Anne Mackness, 14, was visiting Crows Nest Falls, north of Toowoomba, from her home in northern NSW when she went rock climbing and fell about 50m down a ravine on Saturday.
She tried to walk but fell again, this time about 15m, and lay helpless with a fractured pelvis and broken bones in her face.
Two friends visiting the falls with her, Brenda, 16, and Tennille, 15, heard branches breaking and went to find Corrie.
Tennille stayed with her while Brenda ran to call an ambulance.
That's when their luck began to improve.
Toowoomba mother Kathryn Gurdon had arrived at the national park with her three children, including daughter Samantha, and the family's newly arrived French exchange student Benedicte Puig, to show their visitor the native rock wallabies.
As they walked along a track, they met Brenda running for help and dialled 000 at 4.15pm while Samantha went ahead, took off her coat and shoes and swam 70m across the deep waterhole until she found a place to climb out.
"It was very cold. By the time I got to the other side I could hardly breathe. My ankles and toes were numb and I was cold and stiff," Samantha said.
"I was a bit scared swimming across because I didn't know if she had minor or really bad injuries, fatal injuries or if she was unconscious. But I knew she was alive."
Corrie-Anne was semi-conscious and Samantha tried to keep her alert by asking her questions and checked to see she could move her toes.
"We had nothing to wrap her in because I was wet and Tennille only had a bikini top on so she kept close to Corrie to keep her as warm as we could," Samantha said.
Emergency workers arrived at the waterhole but a policeman found the water so cold he could not breathe and decided it was too risky to try to swim across. The group then began walking around the rocks to the girls.
A rescue helicopter called to the scene was forced to turn back at 5.30pm because of fog.
When she heard the helicopter was not coming and they might have to wait until first light, Samantha did not tell Corrie-Anne.
"We could hear the SES people above us on the rocks. It was a very big relief when they came," Samantha said.
After the helicopter rescue was abandoned, it was too dark and the wet rocks too slippery for ambulance officers to risk climbing to the rock ledge where the girls were waiting.
Undaunted, rescuers borrowed a canoe and reached the girls at 8pm, paddling each across the waterhole and letting Corrie-Anne down on a hastily built flying fox to the waters edge and into the canoe.
Samantha and Tennille were treated at the scene for hypothermia and Corrie-Anne was taken to Toowoomba Base Hospital at 11.30pm where she underwent surgery yesterday.
Samantha praised rescue workers who kept going until the girls were safe despite the cold, wet and dark conditions.
"If they had waited until first light we would all have had hypothermia and I don't know how Corrie could have coped," she said.
Toowoomba ambulance area director Glen Maule said Samantha had been "very very brave" to swim to Corrie-Anne's rescue but she was incredibly lucky to get across. "She deserves a bravery medal," he said.
The Courier-Mail
;-)
