9-year-old ignored his sick mom’s reassurance and called 911—it ended up saving her life
Noticing unusual health signs in people around us often leads to life-saving instances. One mom hadn't thought that her 9-year-old son would be the first person to point out that she needed to seek medical care. The woman, Kimberly Smith, had been experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath since the morning back in March 2017. However, she had brushed off her symptoms as pneumonia. But then her son, Camdyn, pushed her to go to the doctor and ended up saving her life in the process, per Huffpost.
The single mom had given birth to her third son through C-section just four weeks ago at that time. On that day, Camdyn came back from home and noticed that his mom had been holding onto her chest. "He said, 'My health teacher said that when someone grabs their chest like that I'm supposed to call 911.' I thought, You know what? I should probably listen to him, because he’s not normally so persistent," Smith recounted. The woman called a doctor, who suggested that she should indeed get herself checked in person. She went to a clinic and her EKG was abnormal when it was checked. The family ended up going to the hospital, where Smith was diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms in both of her lungs.
The condition causes blood clots in the lungs and could have been fatal in Smith's case if she had waited any longer. She experienced the blood clots because of a protein S deficiency. It was also exacerbated because of her C-section. The mom had initially thought that she would just sleep to make her pain better. However, Camdyn was persistent about visiting a doctor. The woman recovered well from the medical emergency and was glad to have her son at her side through all of it. "I’m still getting teary-eyed about it. It warms my heart to know my children care for me so much."
Smith started a GoFundMe page to get help with her medical bills, but her main purpose was to spread awareness about blood clots. "It was the single most scary thing I've gone through. The thought of not being with my children is heart-wrenching! My intention was not to ask for any help at all and to really stress to others to be aware of what their body is saying!" According to Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of pulmonary embolism include shortness of breath, chest pain and fainting. An unexplained cough with bloody mucus could also be a sign.
The mom explained that she could use any help that came her way. "Truth is, I am a single mom and could use a bit of help, but I am not really good at asking for that! Everyone has been so kind and my son, who said 'I don't feel like a hero,' now really does feel like one." The mom received $3,833 in donations and was grateful for all the kindness and love she had received. "I do have medical insurance and plan to use some for my prescription costs, as that doesn't seem to have much coverage. Also, I plan to take my boys to a movie and maybe let them pick a toy. There have been so many donations, I was thinking about donating to a charity or maybe my kid's school health program."