An 8-year-old boy has been hailed a hero for his quick thinking in helping save his mom’s life when she was left unable to breathe and talk after suffering an allergic reaction to antibiotics.
Alicia Reid, 27, from Kidderminster, England, was facing a severe case of anaphylaxis.
The mom of two had a doctor’s appointment for stomach pain, and her GP prescribed her a new antibiotic after incorrectly diagnosing her with a urinary tract infection.
“It was just after lunch, I went to the pharmacy to get these antibiotics, and the kids wanted to watch a film,” Ms. Reid said. “I put the film on and took the antibiotics.”
Five minutes later, Ms. Reid needed to use an inhaler, and 10 minutes after that she began to struggle.
“I was wheezing, I usually control it with my inhaler,” she said. “I had my pink steroid inhaler as the blue wasn’t working.”
Her condition worsened. She began to experience an itchy throat, found herself falling unconscious, and her skin had turned scarlet red.
At this time, her son, Ryan, noticed that something was wrong with his mother.
“[He] kept asking if I was ok,” she said. “I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t ok.
“I was going into a panic. ... Ryan asked again, and I just shook my head as I couldn’t talk. I just couldn’t get any words out, it was like a wheeze.”
As soon as Ms. Reid admitted she was not okay, Ryan ran toward the phone and dialed 999.
“My phone was on the sofa, and I rang my husband, but I couldn’t talk to him, and Ryan had both phones in his hands,” Ms. Reid said.
“He told his dad that he called an ambulance as I couldn’t breathe,” she said. “The call handler asked him all the questions, and he knew all the answers.”
Ms. Reid was surprised to know that her son knew their address, postal code, and even her age. She was impressed at how he led the ambulance crew to know where her inhalers were and all the other details they asked for.
“I tried to point to the antibiotic, he picked them up and said that I had one of those,” Ms. Reid said.
The little boy didn’t need any assistance from his father.
“Usually he’s a very anxious little boy, quiet and shy,” Ms Reid said. “I don’t know how he did it as I know I would’ve panicked.”
Proud of her son for his swift action, Ms. Reid said she has taught Ryan from an early age to call 999 in case she has an asthma attack.
“When he was younger he used to ask after nearly every cough if he needed to call 999,” she said.
Looking back, Ms. Reid is thankful that her boys were home at the time and believes that Ryan saved her life.
“I know while he was on the phone, I ... [was] trying to get as much breath as I possibly could,” she said. “I could feel it getting harder. I felt my knees going on the floor. If the paramedics didn’t come when they did I would’ve passed out.”
