Shaun Silzer, a Ranch Ehrlo unit manager in Regina, received recognition for saving a life on May 11th. He received a Red Cross Rescuer Award for performing CPR on a three-year-old girl while on vacation in Mexico in 2014.

Ranch Ehrlo requires all of its front-line employees to have First Aid and CPR training, but Shaun proved the training is useful outside of work, as well.

Shaun receiving the award Shaun (m) receiving the award

He and his wife have been going to the Grand Luxxe resort in Nuervo Vallarta, Mexico annually since 2012. They anticipated their 2014 vacation to be no different than years past, but on their first day, something very different occurred.

“We were spending our first day at the pool. Around 4 p.m., I was in the pool with my wife and her parents and we heard a mother asking people if they had seen her daughter,” Shaun explained. “A few seconds later, there were screams and the little girl was being pulled out of the water and laid on the pool deck.”

The toddler had no pulse, so Shaun and another Good Samaritan immediately jumped into action. Shaun did chest compressions while the other individual kept the airway clear and provided breaths for nearly fifteen minutes while they waited for emergency services to arrive.

“The resort’s emergency response procedures were very primitive so we actually had to carry her to the ambulance from poolside,” Shaun explained. “We had gotten a pulse back and I felt a little life come back into her.”

The toddler went to the San Diego Children’s Hospital and recovered, actually returning to the resort with her family before the end of the Shaun’s family’s stay.

“We keep in contact with the little girl’s family through Facebook, and it’s amazing to have that connection and to watch her grow, take vacations with her family, and just generally be a happy child with no long lasting effects,” Shaun said.

“The award is very humbling and it is nice to have recognition of the event that took place, but I’m just happy that I was able to help a child, a family, and create a long-lasting relationship with a group of people,” he added.

The Red Cross Rescuer Award honours the efforts of non-professional rescuers who go out of their way to save a life, prevent further injury and/or provide comfort to the injured.