By Elizabeth Hunter via SWNS
Young siblings have been honored after saving their mother’s life when she suffered a cardiac arrest.
Donna Liddle was getting her children, Oliver, 11, and Arianna, 9, ready for school when she suddenly collapsed on the bathroom floor.
Quick thinking Oliver put his mother in the recovery position, while Arianna phoned emergency services before rushing to the neighbor’s house for help.
Within six minutes, paramedics had arrived, and Donna, was given three defibrillation shocks to restart her heart before being taken to hospital.
“I was at home alone with my two children – my husband was in London with work,” said Donna, from Aberdeen, Scotland.
“We were about to leave for school. I was brushing my teeth, and my daughter came to look for me – finding me on the floor unresponsive.
“She screamed for her brother to come and help. Arianna called 999 whilst Oliver tried to put me into the recovery position.
“Oliver also spoke to the call handler whilst my daughter ran across the road to get our neighbors.
“She felt immediate help was needed as I had turned blue and not breathing. My neighbors started giving me CPR before the emergency services arrived.”
Donna spent 15 nights in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and is now recovering well.
Oliver and Arianna recently visited Aberdeen Ambulance Station, to meet some of the staff who attended the incident, including Monica Hurley, a newly qualified paramedic, Gregor McIntosh from the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service, John McCook, a technician, and James McAulay, a paramedic.
The siblings were presented with certificates and SAS teddies for their bravery.
“My recovery is going well,” said Donna.
“I had an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) implanted.
“This amazing technology should work to pace my heart out of a fatal arrhythmia if it occurs again and if this fails it will give a shock similar to that of a defibrillator.
“The survival statistics of a cardiac arrest are low, and I feel very grateful to be here to tell the tale.
“We cannot believe the kindness and compassion the SAS staff demonstrated. The kids are delighted with the certificates.
“My husband and I are extremely proud of our children. Without a shadow of doubt, they saved my life.
“They were faced with a traumatic situation a lot of adults would struggle with.”
Monica said: “We’re so pleased to see Donna has made such a good recovery.
“The brave actions of her children saved her life that day – early intervention is critical in Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests.
“It was wonderful to see Donna and her children again. I felt emotional myself when they were getting their certificates.
“The children really did remain so calm throughout the whole incident.
“I’ll never forget the hug I got from the children after we got her heart beating back to a sustainable rhythm and we could tell them their mum is in a stable condition thanks to the help of the trauma team.
“We wish her all the best in her recovery and fundraising.”
Donna is now aiming to raise $10,000 for the NHS Grampian Charity’s Cardiology Fund, with support from her children’s school friends and she is hosting a ticketed dinner on the 7th March in Aberdeen. Monica and John have also volunteered to go to their kids’ school to teach CPR.
