Cape Town - While most families believe Sundays are for spending family time and this includes eating out, one family got the fright of their lives.
What started out as an ordinary day for a waitress from Gauteng would end up becoming a day she would be capped a hero.
On Sunday, waitress Olga Fakude, 53, from Pretoria was getting ready for the morning breakfast rush at the Wimpy in Mayville Mall, Pretoria when she sprung into action and saved a life.
The breakfast rush sees the Wimpy restaurant filled to the brim and has waiters on their feet tending to their tables, however, the vigilance and observation conducted by Fakude saved the life of a child under the age of six.
The mother of two who has been employed with the restaurant chain for six years used previous training and her maternal instinct to save the life of a patron.
While bustling between tables at about 10am, Fakude noticed the child choking on her food while eating her breakfast.
Equipped with the skills learned from a first aid course she had done a few years prior, Fakude sprung into action.
She started doing abdominal thrusts which enabled the child to cough up the food lodged in her throat.
After what probably felt like the longest few seconds for the parents seated at the table, the little girl started breathing normally again and her parents sighed with relief.
Commenting on her heroic act, Fakude said she was happy she was able to help, as she loves children.
The little girl’s mother expressed how grateful she was for Fakude’s quick reaction and the way she did it.
Store Manager for the Mayville Mall Wimpy, Portia Zulu expressed how proud she was of Fakude’s heroic act and thanked her for the amazing way in which she handled the situation.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL