Girl saves her mom’s life after phoning 999 when she collapsed
A 10-year-old schoolgirl saved her mother’s life after dialling 999 and telling the operators ‘I don’t want to lose my mum’.
Phoebe Gibbs leapt into action after finding mother Leanne, 41, collapsed on the bathroom floor.
Instead of panicking, the level-headed schoolgirl remembered what her parents had taught her to do in an emergency and reached for the phone.
After describing her mother’s symptoms, Phoebe fought back tears as she told the call handler: ‘I don’t want to lose my mum, I love her so much.’
Paramedic Samuel Brewin and technician Joe Carey arrived at the scene and were met by Phoebe waiting outside for them – after she had remembered to lock the family’s dogs away first.
Phoebe Gibbs (pictured with the certificate) leapt into action after finding mother Leanne, 41, collapsed on the bathroom floor
She led the crew upstairs to her mother at their home in Whetstone, Leicester, where Mrs Gibbs was showing signs of serious infection, including low blood pressure and a high temperature.
The drama academy leader was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where, after several months, a bout of pneumonia, antibiotics and many trips back and forth to the hospital, she has finally recovered.
Offering advice to other children, Phoebe said: ‘Always go with that little voice inside of you and go with what you believe in your heart.
‘If something’s not right, then ring 999 straight away. Go with your instincts, it will save lives.’
Mrs Gibbs, who that morning had been feeling unwell, said she was ‘immensely proud’ and ‘very, very grateful’ for Pheobe’s actions on August 3 last year, which she said saved her life.
She said: ‘I remember waking up on that Thursday morning not feeling very well and knowing something wasn’t right.
‘I was very dizzy, weak and had pains in my stomach.
‘Next thing I knew, I was waking up on the bathroom floor with Phoebe and the ambulance crew by my side.’
In the 999 call, Pheobe told call handler Rebecca Adamson her mother had been shouting for her, but then collapsed. Pheobe, who is now 11, said: ‘Suddenly I saw, she looked like she was dead.
‘But luckily she is not dead, she is just hardly breathing. She’s moving her eyes hardly, I think she might be unconscious.
‘She’s moving her head, she’s moving her hands, she’s breathing. I can see her moving.
Phoebe led the paramedics upstairs to her mother at their home in Whetstone, Leicester, where Mrs Gibbs was showing signs of serious infection, including low blood pressure and a high temperature (file image)
‘Her belly is moving weirdly though. Like it’s going in and out and it’s really weird.’
Phoebe has now been presented with a bravery award from East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) after helping her mum when she became seriously unwell.
Joe Carey, the attending ambulance technician who nominated Phoebe for the award, said: ‘Phoebe was very helpful and calmer than most adults we attend in similar circumstances.
‘Despite being very upset, she was able to tell us exactly what had happened and she even had the presence of mind to lock the dogs away before we arrived.’
Mrs Gibbs said she and husband Andy, 43, had taught their daughter about what to do in an emergency, calling 999 and knowing her address.
‘We feel that it is extremely important to keep talking to your children, to go through certain scenarios and what to do’, she said.
‘Phoebe has always been such a caring, happy, empathetic child with such a loving soul. She is a very special little girl.’
