Leon, five, kept a cool head and dialled 999 when his mum became ill
Immediately calling 999 in an emergency can prove the difference between life and death. Ambulance staff will be on hand to calmly advise the caller until paramedics arrive. Here, we celebrate the quick-thinking actions of medical staff and the public who
Amother who collapsed at home has praised the quickthinking actions of her fiveyear-old son who made a potentially life-saving 999 call.
Linzi Isaac, 22, was at her Welshpool home with son Leon and oneyear-old daughter Mia when she suffered an unexpected seizure.
Leon calmly called for an ambulance and, with instructions from a call handler, was able to put his mother in the recovery position, check his little sister was safe and unlock the door for paramedics.
Linzi said: “We still can’t quite believe that he did all of that on his own.
“From what I can gather, he rang 999 and told them our address and even fetched cushions from the sofa to try and put me in the recovery position. “We’re incredibly proud of him.” Linzi, who is originally from Huddersfield in Yorkshire, was diagnosed with epilepsy as a teenager but had not suffered a fit for years until recently.
The care assistant had already had a seizure that day, but an ambulance crew who had been called by husband Luke, 24, determined that she was safe to remain at home.
Later that evening, while Luke was collecting his belongings from work, Welshpool’s CastAlum factory, Linzi suffered a second seizure – but this time it was son Leon who called for help.
Linzi said: “I had a seizure back in October – the first one for five years.
“We sat Leon down and told him that if it were to happen again and he was on his own that he must call 999 and tell them that mummy was having a fit.” And that’s exactly what he did. By coincidence, the call handler that dealt with Luke’s earlier call was the same one who took Leon’s call.
Karen Harry, who is based at the Welsh Ambulance Service’s control room in Carmarthen, said: “As soon as I heard this little voice say ‘mummy’s had another fit’ I knew exactly who it was.
“Leon was superb throughout the whole thing and took my instructions really well.
“It must have been so scary to have been on his own but none of that phased him – he did what he had to do and remained as cool as a cucumber.”
When an ambulance crew arrived minutes later, cautious Leon made sure they identified themselves before he let them in.
Paramedic Steve Davies, who has worked for the Welsh Ambulance Service for 29 years, said: “When we got to the address, Leon wouldn’t let us in until we told him who we were.
“Had Leon not made the call, we wouldn’t have arrived in the time we did.
“It could have been a lot worse because Linzi actually took a poorly turn once we got her in the ambulance.
“Linzi and Luke deserve a lot of credit for the way they’ve raised him, he’s a marvellous little boy.”
Steve was accompanied by Emergency Medical Technician Faith Hill, who added: “Leon was so inquisitive and was asking us lots of questions about all of the different pieces of kit.
“He’s a little trooper, and his par-