Why Iwan, aged 7, is the family’s little hero
THE “heroic” actions of a Cynon Valley seven-yearold helped avert a lifethreatening situation when his grandmother slipped, breaking her wrist and shattering her femur.
Quick-thinking Iwan Jenkins, from Aberdare, used skills learned in his local Beavers sessions to help grandmother Lynne Davies, after she slipped in the family’s garden on slippery decking.
Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Aberdar pupil Iwan’s quick thinking meant he made a beeline for the nearest smartphone to alert his dad, before helping stop his grandmother from losing blood.
Mum Ami-Jayne said: “We were really proud of him for staying calm and handling the situation so well and maturely.”
Lynne had gone to do the ironing at Ami-Jayne and Iwan’s family home while looking after him on the afternoon of March 6, but “disappeared” after going to get the cats in.
Iwan was the only other person home, and AmiJayne said: “She disappeared and the next thing Iwan heard was my mother calling. When he went outside it was raining, and he could see she had fallen and really hurt herself, and her wrist was bleeding profusely.”
According to Ami-Jayne, Lynne was in “denial”, and told Iwan she would not need an ambulance, but he insisted he would do something because of how much blood there was.
So he ran to his mum’s iPhone and texted his dad saying: “Gu has fallen in the garden.”
Iwan then went to get kitchen roll to cover the wounds, but realised it would not be enough to help stop the bleeding, so got a tea towel instead. By that point, dad James had rung Ami-Jayne and the house phone, which Iwan took to Lynne, and she used to speak to him.
Lynne, 68, then rang the ambulance, and because his mother worked close to the house, she was also soon home to help out.
Ami-Jayne, 37, who works in children’s services, said: “Her wrist was in a bad way. Iwan really helped me by fetching a blanket, hot water bottle and some pillows to help make her comfortable.
“Later on, he told my husband he acted after remembering things he had learnt at Beavers, and that’s how he helped her.
“If he had panicked, my mother would not have had a phone to contact us, and the fact he alerted us so quickly really helped. It could have been so much worse if he hadn’t acted like he did.”
Lynne is still in hospital, but Ami-Jayne said she is recovering. She added: “She was very grateful and calling him her ‘little hero.’”
Ami-Jayne also said she informed Iwan’s Beaver leader, and he was given four badges for his achievement, including for communication and completing a personal challenge.
She added: “He’s bright and really switched on, and his heroics might not end here – he wants to be a fireman or a policeman when he grows up.”