A five-year-old girl called 999 for an ambulance after finding her mother unconscious on the kitchen floor. Sydnie Rigby was home alone with daughters Sienna, five, and Daisy, one, when she suddenly fainted, leaving her eldest child to raise the alarm.
Mother taught daughter emergency skills
Sydnie suffers from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a condition affecting the autonomic nervous system which can cause symptoms including dizziness and fainting. After noticing her symptoms had started getting worse in late August, Sydnie decided to teach Sienna how to call the emergency services in case she ever collapsed while they were alone.
The lesson proved vital just a week later when Sydnie suddenly lost consciousness. Her next memory was waking to paramedics shining lights into her eyes after rushing to the family home.
Calm call to emergency services
Emergency service call logs revealed that Sienna had found her mother passed out on the floor before calling 999 herself. Audio from the call hears Sienna telling the operator that her mum "is passed out" and that "her eyes are wiggling".
Sydnie, a compliance manager from Ipswich, Suffolk, said: "I am so proud of her. She was so calm and confident on the call. Everyone was amazed."
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with POTS three years ago, but said her symptoms almost completely disappeared during her most recent pregnancy. However, towards the end of the summer, she noticed they had begun to return, prompting her to teach five-year-old Sienna how to call 999 in an emergency.
Quick response and recognition
Sydnie said: "I walked her through the whole process, showing her how to get the emergency option to come up on the phone lock screen and how to type in 999. I also taught her to ask for an ambulance if something like this were to happen, and got her to memorise our address."
Sydnie's quick-thinking lesson was put to the test just a week later. On September 2, Sydnie was at home with her two daughters and went into the kitchen to take clean clothes out of the washing machine while Daisy napped and Sienna played nearby. But Sydnie suddenly lost consciousness. The quick-thinking youngster picked up the phone and called 999, telling the call handler that her mum needed help and asking for an ambulance to be sent to their address. Paramedics arrived within just ten minutes of her call.
Sydnie said: "I really do think all parents should teach their kids how to call for emergency services because you never know what could happen."
Sienna was due to start her first day of Year 1 the day after the frightening incident, so Sydnie made sure to inform school staff about what had happened so they could keep a close eye on her.
Two weeks later, Sienna was called up in front of her classmates during a school assembly and presented with a special certificate recognising her "bravery, calmness and caring". Sydnie said: "It was such a sweet moment and she got some real recognition for what she did for me. The ambulance service have also said she's up for an award with them, so hopefully that's a nice experience for her as well."
