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Phoebe saves mother's life

Kathryn Ryan
17/ 7/2008

AN AFTERNOON playing out in the garden turned into a life-saving drama for a young schoolgirl.

Eight-year-old Phoebe Harrison was playing on her trampoline when her mum Wendy suddenly collapsed and suffered a fit.

But the quick-thinking youngster remembered skills she learned on a medical course at James Brindley Primary School and sprang into action.

Phoebe, of Shap Drive, Walkden, rushed to her mum’s side but when her cries for help were unanswered, she ran into the house to get help from her dad.

She then instructed her dad Lee Dawson, 40, to move everything around her mum so she could not hurt herself.

Phoebe also told her dad, who suffers from muscle tremors in his legs making it difficult to walk, to check her airway before she put her mum in the recovery position.

Lee then rang the ambulance crew who on arrival claimed that Phoebe’s actions could well have saved her mum’s life.

Now Phoebe has been rewarded for her brave actions in February.

She has received two special commendations - one from Heartstart Salford, who run the course she attended at school, for the life support skills she demonstrated and one from the North West Ambulance Service for her quick thinking and courage.

Phoebe said: "I was pleased to win the awards. I felt good for helping my mum.

"The Heartstart course was fun, we learned the recovery position.

"I would definitely do it again."

Wendy, who has since been diagnosed as epileptic, says train-mad Phoebe has since been spoiled rotten and taken on a steam train trip.

The 36-year-old added: "She was an absolute superstar, I didn't realise she had that much in her.

"It brought me to tears when she got her award.

"She did the same again, I was having a fit in the middle of the night and she woke my partner up and got the medicine ready for the ambulance."