WATCHING her nephew turn blue and lifeless in front of her, Joanne Hemming was forced to draw on the first aid skills she had taught to others for years.
The Chelmsford aunt quickly performed CPR on 18-month-old William, after the toddler had accidentally fallen into her garden pond, and kept him alive until paramedics arrived to rush him to Broomfield Hospital.
Her quick-thinking and bravery on that "terrifying" day in September this year was just one of many inspirational stories celebrated at the Ambulance Excellence Awards on Friday, November 14.
More than 150 accolades were presented to staff, volunteers and members of the public at the ceremony, organised by the East of England Ambulance Service, for their outstanding contributions to the work of the service.
Dr Anthony Marsh, chief executive of the East of England Ambulance Trust, said: "We have celebrated committed and hard-working staff, dedicated volunteers, and members of the public and emergency service colleagues whose actions were courageous and inspiring.
"It is people like this who, in doing the very best they can for patients and the work of the service, make me feel very proud and I'd like to thank each and everyone one of them for what they have done."
An assessor for childcare, and health and social care, Joanne had never been called upon to put her first aid skills into practice before the incident in September, at her Chelmsford home.
She had invited her nephews to the house with their father, her brother, so they could make use of a visit from her hairdresser, and believes young William must have "slipped by" as the family were chatting.
"Then my brother said, 'has anyone seen William?' We ran upstairs to look out the window and saw William in the pond," said Joanne.
"His dad ran and pulled him out, by which time he was completely blue and not breathing, so I started CPR while my son called the ambulance."
Paramedics arrived within minutes, rushing the toddler to Broomfield Hospital in a critical condition, before he was stabilised and transferred to St Mary's Hospital in London.
He has since made "an absolutely full recovery" while his aunt Joanne has looked to erase all memory of the incident from her home.
"The pond was completely filled in the following day as it was just a reminder. I would have seen that image every time I went to feed the fish," she said.
Joanne was awarded a Chief Officer Commendation for her lifesaving skills, and had the opportunity to meet once more with the paramedics and doctors who were instrumental in her nephew's recovery at the ceremony at the Manor of Groves Hotel, in east Hertfordshire earlier this month.
Among other deserving recipients was emergency call hander Nicola Young, who was described as "reliable, dedicated, and enthusiastic", and always willing to go above and beyond for patients in her work at the Chelmsford ambulance control room.
David Spiceley, a long-serving community first responder in Danbury, was commended for his loyalty to the service, attending to hundreds of patients across the region, and never refusing a call.
The awards were presented by Dr Marsh, Sarah Boulton, and chairman of Hertfordshire County Council Richard Smith.
Cllr Smith added: "I was delighted to be part of this very special ceremony, to pay tribute to so many people who have helped others. The stories of bravery and hard work were very humbling to hear and I'm really pleased to meet so many wonderful people."
