My big sister the lifesaver!
Skye, 8, used first aid she learned from watching TV
WHEN a young child begins to fight desperately for breath, the natural reaction is to panic.
But one quick thinking eightyear-old kept calm and saved her little sister from choking to death – thanks to watching TV medical dramas.
Skye Nelson leapt into action when her one-year-old sister Payton started choking on a small piece of Milky Bar.
Their mother Jackie was upstairs and heard coughing but thought nothing of it – until she heard Skye calling out to her.
Mrs Nelson ran downstairs to find Payton had turned blue and was struggling to breathe, with Skye bent over her hitting her repeatedly on the back. Seconds later, Payton vomited and dislodged the chocolate from her throat, allowing her to breathe.
Mother-of-three Mrs Nelson, 30, of Kilwinning, Ayrshire, said Skye’s obsession with real-life medical TV shows such as 24 Hours In A&E and Inside The Ambulance probably saved her sister’s life.
She recalled: ‘It wasn’t until I heard Skye shouting “Mam! Mam!” that I realised there was something seriously wrong. She sounded scared. She wasn’t crying or screaming but you could hear the fear in her voice.
‘It sounded like it was just a cough at first. Payton’s always coughed a lot as a child, so I didn’t think much of it. But when I heard Skye scream I knew something was wrong. It was only after we’d calmed down a bit that I realised if Skye hadn’t acted so quickly I could have lost my little girl.’
Mrs Nelson said Skye, who wants to be a doctor, watched a lot of hospital programmes: ‘We were watching one where a wee boy had choked on a grape and, where most kids would look away, Skye was so interested. I think she knew what to do because she has picked up stuff from these programmes – it helped her stop Payton choking.’
Skye was shortlisted for the Young First Aid Hero award as part of Scottish First Aid Week, and received a certificate from the Scottish Ambulance Service for her bravery and quick thinking.
Mrs Nelson said she had previously taken a first aid course and made sure Skye knew what to do in an emergency.
She added: ‘I’m really confident in her abilities. She’s very mature for her age.’