Posted online: Nov 12th, 2009

EXCLUSIVE

By Andrew Jennings
Reporter

A QUICK thinking seven-year-old has been hailed a hero after saving her dad’s life when he collapsed with a brain tumour.
Brave Courtney Travers was enjoying an evening walk with her father Mark Pender (28) and their dog last Monday (2nd November) in a remote area of the Curragh. However the peaceful stroll turned into a nightmare when Mr. Pender suddenly collapsed and fell unconscious.
The young schoolgirl managed to keep her cool, hurriedly locating her Dad’s mobile phone from his jacket and dialling the emergency services.
A single parent, Mr Pender had crucially taught Courtney a few months prior to the incident exactly what to do in the case of an emergency.
In the pitch dark and with no clue of her location, Courtney was incredibly able to pick out various landmarks in her vicinity so the ambulance service could locate dad and daughter.
Thanks to Courtney’s urgent action the emergency services were able to get to Mr. Pender in time to rush him to Naas General Hospital and save his life.
Unbeknown to himself, Mr. Pender was suffering from a growth on his optical nerve, which caused the collapse.
Speaking about the ordeal following four days in hospital, the doting dad told the Kildare Post how proud he was of his daughter, while also highlighting the importance of parents teaching their young children what to do in the case of an emergency.
“It was a big shock to the system waking up in the ambulance not knowing what had happened. I was only later told what Courtney had done. I couldn’t be more proud because she did really well.”
He added: “The doctor in Naas told me I would have been in big trouble had I been out on the Curragh much longer.
“If it wasn’t for her I might not be here today.”