Once strangers now friends 10 year old Gabriel Balstad and her guardian angel Saara Windley.BEE STING DRAMA AS PAPER GIRL STRUGGLES TO BREATHE
By Peter Franklin
© Daily Chronicle 11/3/2008
When Saara Windley found a young girl crying in the street from pain from a bee sting she didn’t hesitate to go to her aid.
Daily Chronicle delivery girl Gabriel Balstad, 10, was delivering her papers in Kings Drive, Levin, when she was stung on the hand by a bee, the venom quickly taking effect and causing her extreme pain and difficulty breathing.
Gabriel was crying out in pain for help when Ms Windley went to her rescue.
“All I saw was this little girl, crying and needing help,” Ms Windley said.
Ms Windley asked the girl what the matter was and was told that the girl had been stung and was allergic to bee stings.
Gabriel said she was allergic to bee stings and showed her the sting that was still in the palm of her hand.
“I got her father’s cell phone number and rang him, to let him know what had happened and then range for an ambulance,” she said.
Ms Windley also rang Gabriel’s mother to let her know what had happened and then concentrated on keeping the girl as calm as possible.
“She was in pain and beginning to have trouble breathing,” she said.
Ms Windley rang 111 again to see how far away the ambulance was.
“The man I spoke to was great, I think he was trying to keep me clam,” she said.
While she spoke to central communications centre and relayed the girl’s condition the ambulance arrived and the paramedics took over.
Gabriel’s mother Jo Balstad said she was so grateful to Ms Windley for helping her daughter she just couldn’t find the words to express her gratitude.
“Saara kept in touch with us the whole time until we got there,” Mrs Balstad said.
“Saara even texted us that night after we got back from the hospital to find out how Gabriel was.”
Reunited with the young girl on Wednesday, Ms Windley said she did not feel she had done anything out of the ordinary or special.
“I did what I would hope anyone would do if one of my kids were in trouble,” she said.
Now Gabriel is back delivering the Daily Chronicle and has a new friend she can drop in on to say hi to.
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