He tried to save the life of a five-year-old boy who fell into a swimming pool last Thursday. Read the story here.
The only thing that mattered to Richards was that it could have been his younger brother being in trouble.
With a woman from ER24 on the phone to assist him, he ran to the scene and applied up to level six CPR to resuscitate the little boy.
When the woman asked him if he has any knowledge of CPR, he said a little as he was in shock and his thoughts were with the little boy.
Richards says his father Piet Richards, has been teaching him first aid skills and how to apply CPR, but it was the first time he applied it.
Everything his father taught him was slightly vague at the time, but as the ER24 woman explained the steps to him, it all became clear.
He kept trying to apply CPR after the call was terminated, but nothing helped.
At the time of the incident, nothing else mattered to Richards, except saving the boy’s life.
It was a traumatic day in the life of this Grade 11 learner from Hoërskool Hugenote, a day he will remember forever.
He says his family has been friends with the five-year-old boy’s family for quite some time and it felt like losing a close friend.
Piet is extremely proud of his son and what he had done.
“It is at a time like this that you realise the method behind the training,” he says.
To many residents the little boy was Welgedacht’s mascot, but to Richards he was a friend, even though he was only five years old.
Richards chose law as a career choice, but changed his mind and the direction of studies due to the incident.
“After this incident, it is obvious that I want to become a paramedic instead,” he says.
Although he feels it best to help people, he is quite sad about his little friend’s death.
Richards says his mother Charlotte’s passion is to give counselling to people in distress and giving a shoulder to cry on to the parents of the boy, is all he feels he can give now.
This experience has most certainly helped Richards in being more passionate about helping people in need.
