Tragedy motivated pair

Witnessing a drowning at a Bali hotel sparked a new sense of purpose in a mother and daughter from Waikiki.

Michelle and Chelsea Price are on a mission to provide basic first aid training to people in Australia and underdeveloped countries through their charity, No Fuss Resus, which was formed with friends Sally Ledger and Joanne Foxton.

The pair, like many Australians, love to holiday in Bali and have visited several times — but their trip in November last year was life-changing.

“On our last day, while waiting for our airport shuttle, we decided to wait near the rooftop pool,” Michelle said.

“A few minutes later, I heard the scream of Chelsea who had found a girl on the bottom of the pool.”

Michelle, a registered nurse and midwife, started performing CPR on the girl, who she said was about eight or nine years old, but was unsuccessful. “It became apparent to us that the Balinese people and the staff had no training in CPR and no access to it,” Michelle said.

“The pool man mimicked me performing CPR on her throat.

“I shouted for someone to call an ambulance but no one seemed to respond — no one knew the number I later found out.” Chelsea said the ordeal was “awful”.

“There were signs around the pool reminding parents to watch kids but no one knew what a defibrillator was,” she said.

Michelle said the charity’s first focus was buying training equipment, before raising money to fund their travel.

“We would not only teach resuscitation and basic first aid to the staff but would provide an emergency response plan customised for their environment,” she said.

Michelle said as well as Bali, the charity was looking to travel to Vietnam and rural Australia.

To raise money to buy training equipment, which costs about $2000, No Fuss Resus is holding a quiz night and is looking for prizes, vouches and a big-ticket item for the event.

The quiz night will be on November 25, from 6pm to 10pm, at the Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club.

Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite.

For more information, visit nofussresus.com.au.