Lifesaver

“Suddenly I heard bitter cries for help”

Lifesaver Sabina Maurer from Altenmarkt helped in the thermal baths

(Bild: ORF)

She is Salzburg's lifesaver for the year 2024: when a three-year-old boy was floating lifeless in the water at the Watzmanntherme in Berchtesgaden at the beginning of November, Sabina Maurer from Altenmarkt was immediately on the scene and brought him back to life. "Krone" and ORF award her and other heroes.

It was supposed to be a relaxing wellness trip: Sabina Maurer from Altenmarkt was at the Watzmanntherme with her family at the beginning of November. "I had just been in the sauna and then went back to the lounger," recalls the qualified nurse. But suddenly I heard cries for help. "The cries were very bitter. I knew straight away that it was serious," she says.

Little Levi Matthias with his parents

(Bild: Maximilian Kronberger)

At that moment, her ten-year-old daughter came running up the stairs: "She said: 'Mommy please come, you're the only one who can save this now'." The great luck for the little boy from Hallein and his family was that Sabina Maurer, an absolute professional, was on the scene: she works in care in the retirement home in Wagrain and also helps as an emergency paramedic with the Red Cross - when minutes count.

Three-year-old boy had several guardian angels
The boy had several guardian angels. Two girls had found him floating lifelessly in the adventure pool. When Maurer arrived, he had turned completely blue. "I put the child on the floor and started immediately." The lifeguard helped. "He gave artificial respiration, I pushed. Then we set up an oxygen supply," explains the lifesaver.

I worked through my rescue plan in my head. It's a situation where you just work.

Sabina Maurer, Lebensretterin

Bild: Jöchl Martin

 She concentrated fully on the child in the next few anxious moments: "We made sure we got a circulation together." The little one slumped away once more, but was immediately brought back by his guardian angels. Maurer: "It's a situation where you just work." The helpers only really realized later that a life was hanging by a thread.

"At that moment, there was no time to lose."
At some point, the bathers left and the Bavarian Red Cross arrived. The little patient was flown to Salzburg University Hospital and put into artificial deep sleep. After a few days, mom and dad were able to take him into their arms on the normal ward. It is thanks to Maurer's courageous intervention that the boy recovered so quickly.

Proud? "Of course it's a good feeling when you can help," says the qualified nurse, delighted with the award from ORF and "Krone". Lifesavers 2024 - Austria's heroes and heroines: Gala on Monday, December 16, at 9:15 p.m. on ORF 2.