Yahoo News Girl, 6, saves mum’s life by calling 999 following massive asthma attack
Cali-Maii Ball, 6, awoke to find her mum Lauren, 25, desperately gasping for air at their family home in Hornchurch, east London.
Watch: Girl, 6, saves mum’s life by calling 999
This is the emotional moment a brave girl saved her mum’s life by calling 999 after she suffered a massive asthma attack.
Cali-Maii Ball, 6, awoke to find her mum Lauren, 25, desperately gasping for air at their family home in Hornchurch, east London.
However, instead of panicking, Cali-Maii instead dialled 999 and calmly spoke to the call handler, telling her their exact address and unlocking the door for paramedics when they arrived.
In the audio, she is heard telling the operator “I think my mum is having an asthma attack – mummy is really struggling to breathe.”
Cali-Maii tells the handler that her mum has a nebuliser for her asthma and that she has used it.
She then talks to her mum, telling her: “It’s okay mummy. The ambulance is going to come in a minute.”
The call ends when the handler tells Cali-Maii that the paramedics had arrived and to let them in.
Lauren was taken to hospital, where she remained for six days before being released with a new injection treatment to reduce the risk of similar episodes.
Mum-of-two Lauren said: “Cali saved my life.
“If it wasn’t for her calling 999 so quickly and the paramedics intervening so promptly, this would have been a really different story.
“Cali’s actions were life changing and if our story can help even one more parent get the help they need in a life-threatening situation, I’d be over the moon.
“I’ll never be able to show them all how grateful I am for saving me.”
‘A real hero’
Cali-Maii has now been commended for her reaction by the team at London Ambulance Services – who arrived at the scene within just four minutes.
Paramedics William Grove, Daniella Robinson, Sam Taylor and Laura Canty found Lauren losing consciousness and close to cardiac arrest.
Taylor said: “Cali-Maii is a real hero. A few extra minutes could have cost her mother her life.
“Lauren was very close to going into cardiac arrest and it was Cali’s incredibly quick cry for help that saved her.”
The team says that the incident is a reminder that parents should teach their children what to do in an emergency.
London Ambulance Service says that children should be taught their home address, how to call 999 and to unlock the front door once they have made the call.
What to do if someone is having an asthma attack
It may be distressing to witness someone having an asthma attack but there is plenty you can do to help someone suffering one.
Breathing becomes difficult due to narrowed airways as a result of the muscles of the air passages in the lungs going into spasm.
Other signs someone is in the middle of an asthma attack include a tight chest, wheezing and coughing, difficulty speaking and a grey-blue tinge to the lips, earlobes and nailbeds.
You should reassure the patient and ask them to take their usual dose of their blue inhaler, while guiding them through slow and deep breaths.
If no inhaler is available, you should call 999 and sit the patient down into a comfortable position.
Mild attacks usually ease after a few minutes but if symptoms do not improve it is likely they are suffering a severe attack.
They should take a puff of their inhaler every 30 to 60 seconds, until they have had 10 puffs.
Continue to monitor their breathing and level of response and get them to take a puff of their inhaler every 30 to 60 seconds again if the ambulance has not arrived within 15 minutes.
If the patient becomes unresponsive you should prepare to give CPR.
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