Peter Cullen is a Vietnam veteran and lives in Howlong, a regional town in Australia.

Earlier this year, on the 4th of January, Peter had surgery on his leg which required a skin graft.

When back at home recovering, his skin graft suddenly burst open, causing blood to pour everywhere.

Peter’s wife, Lynette, is his carer. Due to his range of health issues, she knows first aid. So she quickly gathered bandages and ice packs and compressed the wound, but nothing stopped the bleeding.

She pressed the emergency assistance button they’d had installed in their house, which automatically places a call to a service that then connects them with 000.

But the service had difficulty connecting to 000. Lynette continued doing everything she could.

When they got through, 000 said they couldn’t promise an ambulance within the next one to two hours.

Lynette looked at Peter. He was bleeding out. He was going grey and getting sweaty, and she was losing him.

She positioned him according to her training. She didn’t know what else to do.

Suddenly, she realised she could use her phone to put something on Facebook and get some help. She took a few photos of Peter and posted them and the word, ‘Help’.

Instantly, she received responses from friends and family. Her daughter in Canberra, Kat, suggested they call other emergency services.

Kat called the fire service, an emergency response service. She called every service she knew. Within 20 minutes, they were at Peter’s house.

Seeing that Peter had lost litres of blood, the first group to arrive called for backup.

Peter was taken to hospital and ended up in Melbourne. He received four blood transfusions, among other things, and is still in recovery.