There is no hyperbole to what Shepparton husband and father Warren Tait says; while the life of his wife, Sarah, was gravely altered on November 2, it was also saved — by her eight-year-old son.
That night, Sarah dived into her backyard pool as innocuously as ever but fractured her neck in two places and lay face-down in the water — quite simply, she was unable to move a muscle, and drowning.
But what happened in the ensuing minutes was a miracle. Her son, Jesse — with no first-aid training — pulled his mother to safety and pumped on her stomach, freeing water from her mouth and allowing her to breathe.
“Mum dived in the pool, and then she floated up to the top,” he said.
“I brought her over to the edge, but then I realised I couldn't lift her up so I pulled her over. Then I started pushing on her tummy, and after that she started saying ‘help'.
“At first I was calm because I thought it was a practice drill, I know how to do this. But then when I brought her over, I realised she shouldn't be able to hold her breath for that long. Then I started to panic and I forgot what to do a bit, but then it came to mind.”
Still alive, Sarah's ordeal was far from over, unable to move on the side of the pool.
“I saw Jesse go down to her, and the next minute she's rolled over looking at me, and says ‘I can't move my legs’," Warren said.
“I thought she was messing with me, but she says ‘no, I think you need to call someone'.”
Once his phone was retrieved by six-year-old daughter Hailey, paramedics arrived and Sarah was flown to Melbourne for emergency surgery.
She dived in the pool about 7 pm and by 1.30 am was in surgery. By 5.30 am her spine was fused to begin treating a C5 and C6 fracture, an upper part of the neck.
Warren, who rushed to Melbourne to be with his wife, would not see his children for another two days — only then would he learn of Jesse's gallantry.
“I'm not a religious man, but how do you not put that in the miracle category?" Warren said.
“He's had no training, although he's been in the pool since he was a month old. They've always known how to swim, but he's had no training in relation to CPR, life-saving techniques.
“I said to him ‘you know you saved your mum's life, right?’ I didn't even know how he knew to do that, and he says ‘well, from Bondi Rescue'.”
So crucial was the popular television show's part in his son's actions, Warren reached out to Network 10, which not only organised a chat for the youngster with legendary Bondi lifeguard Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins, but featured Jesse on Sunday's The Project.
But for the Tait family — particularly Sarah — the battle is far from over.
At Kew's Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre, the 34-year-old is suffering spinal shock and has limited body movement; while she has motion in her big toes, ankles, knees, hips, neck and thumbs, a long recovery awaits.
“It's the world's worst game of watching paint dry, you just don't know, and it just can't be determined,” Warren said.
“Because the spine is swollen, the injury can't really be determined. You get through the initial three months and see what you can do, and your injuries are really determined at that six-month point.
“At the end of that period, the things you can't do, that's basically your injury. That's your new way of life.”
Jesse, who is now nine, said positive emotions filled his head when reunited with his mother more than two weeks after the accident.
“When I went through the hospital the first time I was feeling really excited because I got to see Mum for the first time in two weeks,” he said.
“When I walked into her room, my head was full of question marks. I hugged Mum, and asked her a question about the string on her nose. She said it was to help her eat.
“I was just feeling really happy, excited and really lucky that I got to see my mum.”
● A GoFundMe page has been set up to help support Sarah's recovery. It can be found at gf.me/u/y9vvs7
19°C