Desperate effort to save boy after 'rough play' at school stopped his heart
Rough play is being blamed for a school emergency which almost claimed the life of a 10-year-old Sydney boy.
Paramedics had to restart the young student’s heart after a shove triggered a medical episode during Tuesday’s lunch break.
Popular and talented, the boy is a well-known student at Wattawa Heights Primary School in Bankstown, in Sydney’s south-west.
At his family’s request, 7 News has chosen not to name him.
“We had a number of students involved in playing a game that’s gone tragically wrong,” NSW Department of Education deputy secretary Murat Dizdar told 7 News.
The group of boys was in the toilet block at lunchtime when the young victim was allegedly punched.
One student told his mother he saw the boy fall, which doctors now confirm triggered a medical episode.
Paramedics said the boy did not have a pulse before teachers began CPR.
“Without them initially, [our efforts] may have been fruitless,” NSW Ambulance paramedic Daniel Campen said.
“They were doing really effective CPR, which really gave this child the best chance of survival.”
The school’s principal emailed parents confirming there had been a “playground incident” that resulted in a student being taken to hospital for “medical treatment”.
Police have spoken with the students involved and no further action was expected.
The Education Department says the school will support the boy and his family any way it can.
“He’s an adorable little boy, little humble boy, very sweet, very friendly,” family friend Fatima Hamadi said.
The boy is now in a stable condition in hospital.
