Girl’s 999 call saves mum’s life after wasp sting horror
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD girl saved her mum’s life by calling 999 after she had a severe allergic reaction to a wasp sting.
Ela Haf Griffiths, from Maesteg, dialled 999 and asked for an ambulance on the evening of August 20 when her mum Laura Griffiths was stung by a wasp, causing her to collapse and fall down the stairs.
Laura, 38, was unconscious for around 40 minutes until the paramedics arrived.
Now she’s urging parents to teach their children their home address and what to do in an emergency.
Laura, a business support manager, said: “If she hadn’t known how to call 999 and hadn’t known our address, I would have died. It’s as simple as that.
“Ela was my hero and I’m so, so proud of her. She saved my life.”
The pair had been getting ready to watch a film at around 7pm when Laura was stung by a wasp that had been inside the leg of her pyjama bottoms.
She said: “Ela put her pyjamas on first and had gone back downstairs. I put my pyjamas on and began walking out of my bedroom towards the stairs when I felt a sharp pain down my leg.
“It was excruciating. The only way I can describe it is that it felt like something was burning my leg.
“I pulled my bottoms down and inside the leg was a huge wasp. I managed to get down a few of the stairs before I collapsed and fell to the bottom on to the hallway floor.
“After that, I don’t remember anything, I completely passed out.
“My daughter was downstairs and she said I was shouting for help. She told me she was shouting, ‘Mummy, mummy’ and thought I’d fallen down the stairs.
“She got my mobile phone out of my bag and because she knows my password she called my dad, who only lives about 10 minutes away.
“Ela then rang 999 and told the operator, ‘Mummy has fallen down the stairs and isn’t talking to me’.
“She saw the wasp on the stairs and told them she thought I might have been stung by a bee, which meant when the paramedics arrived they were able to administer antihistamines and adrenaline straight away.”
Ela, a Year Three pupil at Ysgol Cynwyd Sant, remained calm throughout the phone conversation and followed the operator’s instructions before Laura’s dad John Griffiths arrived and took over the phone call and performed CPR.
Laura said: “My dad told me that when he came into the house the first thing she said was, ‘Mummy is dead’.
“It was at this point Ela started crying hysterically. I think it all hit her at once.”
Paramedics arrived minutes later and took Laura to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.
It was confirmed she had suffered a severe allergic reaction to the wasp sting and had gone into anaphylactic shock.
She stayed in hospital overnight before being discharged.
“The swelling on my leg has gone down but the mark has got bigger,” she said. “I don’t know if it will ever go away.
“But I’m alive, which might not be the case if Ela wasn’t there.”
Laura said she taught Ela at a young age how to call 999 in an emergency and their home address.
“I’ve lived alone with her since she was 18 months and because it’s always just been us two, I’ve drummed into her what she needs to do if there’s an accident,” she said. “I’ve told her how to call 999 and she knows how to say and spell our address.
“She managed to stay so calm and speak to the operator so clearly, even though I can’t imagine the fear she must have been feeling.
“The one thing everyone should take away from this is that children need to know how to call 999 and they need to know the address.
“I’ve had so many parents commenting saying it’s something they have never thought about.
“One mum told me she asked her youngest son what he would do in an emergency and he started crying because he didn’t know.
“In modern society, we don’t all have landlines, most of us use mobile phones and they’re not always kept in the same place and most people have pin numbers. It’s so important that your children know how to access a phone and what to do.
“Ela has gone into school and has taken it upon herself to make sure her friends know what to do. I had an email from the headteacher telling me how proud I must be.”
Since the incident, Laura has been left with a large mark on her leg, low blood pressure and is being tested for other allergies.
She also carries an Epipen wherever she goes and has even taught Ela how to administer it in case she has another allergic reaction.
She said: “I’ve taught Ela how to use the pen in case she ever has to administer it.
“We were given a practice pen which was really useful and she has had lessons on how to use it.
“Ela is still really shaken up by the whole thing.
“Even though she knew what she did was amazing and everybody has been telling her how brave she was, she still thinks about it all the time. Whenever a bee comes near her she runs away screaming.
“But if it ever happens again, she knows exactly what to do. Teaching your children what to do in those situations is such a simple thing but it really can be the difference between life and death.”