Kids found their mom collapsed on the bathroom floor — their swift response saved her life just in time

The 11 and 9-year-olds were alone with their unconscious mom, but remained calm and took calculated steps to save her.

PUBLISHED 4 DAYS AGO

(L) Woman lying unconscious on floor. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels| Photo by cottonbro studio), (R) Siblings playing at home alone. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels| Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko)

During an emergency, there is almost no time to think. Especially if you see your loved one suffering or in need of help, you would do anything to offer assistance or ask for help. When the situation is more dire, like a case of life and death, it is crucial that even children have some understanding of what to do. 11-year-old Oliver and 9-year-old Arianna, fortunately, knew better than to panic. They offered life-saving services for their mom, Donna, who suddenly collapsed when she was home alone with her kids, per Aberdeen Live. The brave kids knew what to do for their mum and it was their astute action that saved her life.

Woman feeling uneasy at home. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo by Mart Production)

The mom recalled that she was brushing casually and before she knew it, she collapsed to the ground. Oliver and Arianna were left alone to figure something out quickly. Arianna noticed her mom seemed “blue” and quickly called her brother, per BBC. The duo didn’t panic or freeze but immediately sprang to action. Both siblings decided to quickly do their part in getting help. Oliver immediately reached out to 999 and explained what happened, requesting medical help. Arianna ran out of her home to yell for help. Listening to her plea, neighbors quickly arrived to help. The kids remained calm and assisted in getting their mom into a recovery position.

Siblings playing by themselves at home. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo by Ivan SAMKOV) — Siblings playing by themselves at home. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo by Ivan Samkov)

Since the neighbors knew CPR, they were able to perform the life-saving act on Donna, buying more time for medics to intervene. The woman had suffered cardiac arrest and had collapsed due to a heart rhythm problem that she was unable to diagnose at the time. Donna soon received medical help and was fine after a while. As the mom approached a year after the incident, she credits her life to her children and those who were able to help, thanks to the duo’s quick thinking. “My kids were fantastic. They managed to stay quite calm and remembered everything that they'd been told and they knew how important it was to get help quickly,” she remarked.

Emergency services taking woman to hospital in stretcher. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo by Pavel Danilyuk)

She also noted that had it not been for their astuteness and bravery, she wouldn’t be celebrating Mother’s Day. “Without a shadow of doubt, they saved my life. They were faced with a traumatic situation many adults would struggle with,” she added. After the eye-opening incident, the family has been active in voicing the need to be alert in such situations, especially with emergencies and CPR administration. Paramedic Monica Hurley, who was part of the crew that helped Donna, highlighted, “The brave actions of her children saved her life that day—early intervention is critical in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests."

The mom collaborated with the British Heart Foundation and shared her story. In a post on Facebook, she shared glimpses of her family’s active effort to make a difference. “The research they are doing to try and understand why idiopathic cardiac arrests are happening is phenomenal and will hopefully benefit future generations. In the meantime, CPR can save lives,” she wrote. In another post, the mom shared statistics and said, “Sudden cardiac arrest really can happen at any time to anyone and having the skills to start CPR within the first few minutes makes a huge difference to the odds of survival.”