A young girl from Wollaton, Nottingham has received a bravery award from EMAS for coming to her mum’s rescue when she was struggling to breathe.
Seven-year-old Kiran was at home with her young siblings Kavita, Kajal, Kiyara and Raja, when they discovered their mum, Lytina, gasping for air and subsequently passing out on the kitchen floor at 8.28pm on 4 May 2023.
Despite there not being any other adult present at the time of this medical emergency, and all faced with a distressing situation, Kiran remained calm, grabbed Lytina’s phone from the kitchen worksurface and quickly called 999.
Kiran said: “When I saw what was happening to mum I couldn’t sit there and do nothing.
“I didn’t want to lose her so called 999, then I gave the home address and told the person on the phone what was happening.
“I calmed my siblings down by telling them it was going to be ok. I told them to go out to the driveway and wait for the ambulance to arrive.
“I felt nervous but was so relieved when the ambulance crew arrived and told me mum was going to be ok.”
Kiran’s emergency call was answered by 999 Emergency Medical Advisor Helen King.
She said: “Kiran handled the situation really well and was brilliant throughout.
“She was able to provide me with the pertinent details I needed from her, so I could advise her what she needed to do next to help mum.
“Kiran was also fantastic with her siblings, putting her own feeling to one side to look after them and mum, keeping them all as calm as possible while dealing with the emergency situation at hand until the ambulance crew arrived.”
During the call, Helen advised Kiran to lay Lytina flat on her back to see if she could confirm if she could hear that her mum was breathing. Meanwhile Kiran’s siblings went to the driveway ready to flag down the approaching ambulance and guide the crew to where they needed to go upon their arrival.
Arriving on scene were the ambulance crew of paramedic Kate Bhagat, ambulance technician Grace Francis, and student paramedic from Nottingham Trent University Megan Maskell.
Grace said: “We reassured the children when we arrived and got them to lead us to where Lytina was.
“When we got into the house, my colleagues Kate and Megan focused on Lytina and once she was ok, I took the kids into another room to keep them occupied, calm them down, and then getting in touch with their aunt so she could look after the kids while we took mum to hospital.”
Megan added: “All the kids were well behaved and very helpful by giving us the space we needed to provide treatment to Lytina, doing everything their mum asked them to do. For example, getting their stuff ready for their aunt’s arrival to collect them.
“They were really inquisitive and wanted to know mum was ok. Some of them asked us a few questions so I was showing them the lines on the monitor connected to Lytina to explain to them that this meant mum was fine but that we needed to take her to hospital for further observations.”
Speaking of that evening, Lytina added: “I was washing some pots in the kitchen when my choking became more severe.
“The back of my throat felt tickly and then I could feel it closing up, and despite breathing in or out, I wasn’t able to get any air.
“Because I couldn’t call out for help, I banged on the kitchen counter, which alerted the children to come to the kitchen to see I was in severe difficulty.
“As I went outside to try and get some air, the kids picked up my phone and Kiran ended up speaking to the call handler.
“By the time I came inside, my vision went black, and I fell to the floor.
“They all did a fantastic job in reassuring me it was all going to be ok as I didn’t think I’d survive. My thoughts were consumed with who would look after the kids if I were no longer here.
“I’m so proud of them for acting so quickly. They are the reason I’m here to be able to tell you my story today.”