A brave young girl saved her mum’s life thanks to a tip she’d learned from watching a children’s TV show.
Charli Johnson rang triple zero – the emergency services number in Australia – after her mum fainted at their Gold Coast home last month.
The nine-year-old said she’d learned to ring the number in an emergency from Operation Ouch!, a show in which twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken teach children about all things medical.
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She was able to put this into action when her mum Sharon Williams fell ill due to a virus and stopped breathing. Her quick-thinking call can be heard here:
The incredible audio released by Queensland Ambulance Service shows the conversation Charli had with medical dispatcher Anne Barklimore as she talked the girl through CPR to keep her mum going until the paramedics turned up.
In the recording, the girl calmly lets the dispatcher know her name and location before saying, “My mum woke up at 6.30 this morning. She was throwing up. I had to make my own lunch and everything.”
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As Sharon’s situation worsens, Charli says, “She just kneeled to the ground and just fainted,” adding, “I think she’s stopped breathing.”
At this point, the dispatcher tells her how to perform resuscitation, which Charli said she carried out for ‘around 17 minutes’ until the ambulance arrived.
“Place the heel of your hand on the breastbone in the centre of the chest… pump the chest hard and fast,” explained Anne.
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“Count out loud so I can count with you. I need you to keep doing the compressions over and over, don't give up. This will keep her going until the paramedics arrive.”
Thankfully Sharon has made a full recovery, and now she is ‘extremely proud’ of her daughter for saving her life.
When asked how she knew what to do, Charli told 9News’ Today Show: “I just watched this TV show called Operation Ouch!
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“It shows CPR and tells you to ring Triple 0 in an emergency and I just remembered my address and mum's phone number.”
Sharon admitted that while it was ‘very tough’ listening back to the audio, she is extremely grateful to her daughter.
“I just asked her how she got into my phone because it was locked,” she told the outlet.
“She showed me, and there's an emergency call and she managed to do it. She was very calm. I'm very proud of her.”
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Anne also praised the young girl for ‘saving her mum’s life that day’, and Charli has since been awarded a certificate of appreciation for bravery and composure from the Queensland Ambulance Service.
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Daisy Phillipson