Christmas Day Beach Trip Turns to Near Tragedy
A family holiday at a popular New South Wales beach took a dramatic turn on Christmas morning when a young man nearly drowned. The incident occurred at the western side of Shoal Bay Beach, where 23-year-old Mackenzie Symons was swimming with his friends, brothers Billy and Joe Labroad.
The group's festive outing turned to panic when Mr Symons got into serious difficulty in the water. His friends realised he was in trouble when they saw him floating motionless.
Stranger's Quick Thinking Saves a Life
Nearby, Brisbane lawyer and father of two, Ben Judd, was at the beach with his two young sons, aged eight and four. They were visiting Mr Judd's sister who lives in the area and had gone to the beach so one of the boys could try out a new boogie board.
"We were maybe 10 or 15 metres away from the group," Mr Judd recalled. "The older brother [Billy] kind of ran past and asked if he could use my son's board because he thought his friend was in trouble."
Mr Judd described the moment he realised the situation was critical. "He [Mackenzie] was kind of floating on his back, but then he turned over and was just kind of bobbing there. I could see Billy's face just go white and I knew something serious was happening."
With the help of the two brothers, the unconscious man was pulled from the water onto the sand just above the water line. Mr Judd, whose only first aid training was a CPR course taken 17 years earlier, immediately began resuscitation efforts.
"The boys were kind of in shock and didn't quite know what to do, so I just started CPR," he said. "He was grey, and I didn't know at that time he had seven litres of water in him, it was clear he wasn't breathing."
Miraculous Recovery and Family's Gratitude
After two to three minutes of CPR, Mr Symons began to show signs of life. "He started getting some water up and I could hear some very raspy breaths, which was a good sign," Mr Judd explained. The group managed to place him in the recovery position before paramedics arrived approximately five to seven minutes later.
The ambulance crew intubated Mr Symons and removed more water from his system. Remarkably, just three days after the near-fatal incident, the 23-year-old was home with his family, though still recovering.
Mr Symons' father, Reano, spoke of the family's desperate search to find and thank the stranger who saved his son's life. "Nearly losing my son was the most dreadful thing I've experienced in my life," he told the Newcastle Herald. "Forward three days and our boy is home with us, healthy very vague, and alive thanks to Billy Labroad, his brother, and this stranger whom I'm trying to find."
Mr Judd made contact with the newspaper after his sister sent him an article about the family's search for the rescuer. He had been concerned after the incident when police mentioned they might need to speak with him further, and was relieved to learn through the media that the young man had survived.
"I'm glad to hear he has come out the back end of it but obviously he will still have some recovering to do," Mr Judd said. He also praised the actions of Billy and Joe Labroad, calling them heroes. "The older brother was straight into action and without him there we wouldn't have got him on the beach so quickly so it was a real team effort."
The Brisbane lawyer modestly downplayed his own role in the dramatic Christmas Day rescue, emphasising the collective effort that saved Mackenzie Symons' life on what could have been a tragic holiday morning at Shoal Bay.
