Hillcrest Community Rallies Together to Help Elderly Woman in Medical Emergency

What started as a routine grocery run for Karyn Smith turned into a touching display of a community in action after an elderly woman collapsed at a nearby cafe. Karyn, fresh off her Level 2 First Aid training, stepped up to lead the care and just about everyone who could, paused their morning to offer hands-on support.

Hillcrest, South Africa (12 May 2026) – While making her way to the shops for a grocery run, nothing could have prepared Karyn Smith for the sudden emergency that would strike in her midst – and the overwhelming wave of human kindness that would follow.

Just before she could reach the store, Karyn was walking past Stretta Café in Hillcrest, where she noticed what looked like an elderly woman off her chair.

“From the way she never caught her fall, I knew immediately she had passed out,” Karun recalls in a post shared online.

Having just completed her level 2 First Aid training, she offered her assistance and immediately established the elderly woman’s heart rate and irregular pulse.

“Her friend told me she was on blood thinners, heart meds and BP meds. I knew she needed the hospital, and the risk of moving her at that age and on blood thinners was too much.”

Karyn called the SA CAN (Community Action Network), which is a community-oriented organisation in South Africa providing 24/7 emergency support and crime prevention by linking citizens to service providers.

An ambulance was dispatched within three minutes. However, it was the hurried acts of support and kindness that unfolded while waiting for the medics that truly moved Karyn, showcasing a level of compassion that restored her faith in humanity.

Staff at Stretta Café helped with providing cushions and blankets for the unconscious woman, who was in a cold sweat and freezing.

“She lost consciousness twice, and each time the staff were helping hold her up and getting buckets of ice water. Siboniso from Stretta was phenomenal and actioned everything I asked for,” Karyn shares.

Two security officers, Lucas Mkhize and Wilson Thabethe, were just as exceptional, helping to lift and lay the woman down as well as refusing to leave her side.

Karyn also praised the paramedics from Meditech Emergency Response who calmly reassured the woman she needed to go to the hospital.

“They were so beautifully kind when she said, ‘Please be gentle with me.’”

Karyn admits she had “leaky eyes” when all was said and done.

“I just love our community. To the two lovely ladies who I never got to get numbers from, who were already assisting her, I hope you see this. Sitting at the next table from hers, you both were so kind and helpful.”

The elderly woman was later found to be 70 years old and had driven to the Hillcrest area from Amanzimtoti on her own. She was taken to the hospital, and arrangements were made to get her car to her.

“Her beautiful little friend Jenny was so flustered, and everyone was just so kind. Beautiful to see people come together for another human being.”

It’s not every day a trip to the store turns into an emergency that sees everyday South Africans drop everything to become the heroes a stranger needs. When it matters most, we are never truly alone.

Sources: Karyn Smith 

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