Aberdeen brother and sister save mum's life after finding her 'blue and unconscious'

A brother and sister saved their mother’s life after finding her blue and unresponsive on the floor of their home.

Donna Liddle suffered a cardiac arrest while brushing her teeth before the school run on June 3.

“I was at home alone with my two children – my husband was in London with work”, Donna said.

“We were about to leave for school, I was brushing my teeth, and my daughter came to look for me finding me on the floor unresponsive.”

Donna’s nine-year-old daughter Arianna screamed for her brother to come help and phoned 999.

Oliver, 11, tried to put his mum into the recovery position.

“Oliver also spoke to the call handler whilst my daughter ran across the road to get our neighbours,” the Aberdeen mum said.

“She felt immediate help was needed as I had turned blue and not breathing. My neighbours started giving me CPR before the emergency services arrived.”

Several Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) staff were dispatched and it took three defibrillation shocks to successfully restart Donna’s heart.

Donna and her husband are “extremely proud” of their children. Scottish Ambulance Service via Supplied

The team delivered her an emergency anaesthetic and transferred her to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where she spent a total of 15 nights recovering in hospital.

“My recovery is going well,” Donna said.

“I had an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) implanted; this amazing technology should work to pace my heart out of a fatal arrhythmia if it occurs again and if this fails it will give a shock similar to that of a defibrillator. “

The family visited Aberdeen Ambulance Station recently to meet some of the staff who attended the emergency, where the Arianna and Oliver were honoured with certificates of commendation and SAS teddies for their bravery.

“The survival statistics of a cardiac arrest are low, and I feel very grateful to be here to tell the tale,” Donna said.

“We cannot believe the kindness and compassion the SAS staff demonstrated. The kids are delighted with the certificates.”

“My husband and I are extremely proud of our children. Without a shadow of doubt, they saved my life. They were faced with a traumatic situation a lot of adults would struggle with.”

Monica Hurley, newly qualified paramedic and one of the first responders on the scene, said she will never “forget the hug” she got from the children after successfully restarting Donna’s heart.

She said: “We’re so pleased to see Donna has made such a good recovery. The brave actions of her children saved her life that day – early intervention is critical in Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests. It was wonderful to see Donna and her children again. I felt emotional myself when they were getting their certificates.

“The children really did remain so calm throughout the whole incident. I’ll never forget the hug I got from the children after we got her heart beating back to a sustainable rhythm and we could tell them their mum is in a stable condition thanks to the help of the trauma team. We wish her all the best in her recovery and fundraising.”

Donna is now hoping to raise £10,000 for the NHS Grampian Charity’s Cardiology Fund, with support from her children’s school friends – and she is hosting a ticketed dinner on March 7 in Aberdeen in an effort to raise funds.