Elizabeth Crooks, 26, resides in Northern Ireland with her three children, the eldest of which is Aiden, six years old.
Crooks, who has a number of health difficulties, experienced an episode of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) on July 20. POTS is a disease in which a person’s heart rate rapidly accelerates after standing upright. POTS is an autonomic nervous system condition with symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and exhaustion, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“My heart rate wouldn’t calm down; it just kept getting faster, and I couldn’t even sit up,” the mother of three told Newsweek.
She phoned for an ambulance, but because she was not suffering chest discomfort and was still aware, she was concerned that it would take a long time to arrive.
And before long, she added, “My heart rate hit 180; I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I passed out.”
Her quick-thinking kid was then captured on the family’s Ring doorbell dashing to the yard to seek an Amazon delivery driver for assistance, and he immediately took action.
On July 21, Crooks’ TikTok account @n.irishmum posted a video in which Aiden accepts a gift from the man and says, “Excuse me.” “Can you help my mother?”
He claims that his mother has “fainted,” and the man opens the gate and walks quickly into the home.
The video then switches to the delivery driver talking on the phone with emergency workers, informing them of the situation, including the presence of two small children in the house.
Crooks told Newsweek that she believed she had been asleep for around 20 minutes when her son and daughter noticed the delivery man and pulled him inside.
“He realized how severe it was and called for aid, so I got treatment much faster. By the time the ambulance arrived, some 20 minutes later, I was coming around, but pale as a sheet with blue lips.
She said that she became ill on her birthday and had intended to take Aiden and his 5-year-old sister out for snacks and a movie, but “felt unwell so stayed in instead,” and that her youngest kid was not with her at the time.
After receiving treatment from medical professionals, who believe Crooks experienced a “bad episode” of POTS, and recuperating in the hospital, she decided to share the video on TikTok, incorporating a description that emphasizes the significance of discussing emergency procedures with your kids.
The video has received over 400,000 views since its publication just one day ago, and hundreds of comments have praised both the quick-thinking kids and the delivery guy.
“The fact he didn’t hesitate is amazing,” said one TikTok user, while another insisted that “he deserves recognition for what he did.” “What a lovely man!”
“Such a clever little boy, and well done to that driver,” one reader commented.
“We need to find this man and give him the recognition he deserves,” a TikToker was saying.
Crooks told Newsweek that she has now contacted the driver and had a quick talk to thank him.
She has been “overwhelmed” by the huge response to her tale and is “thankful that it has blown up.”
“Hopefully, it can remind other parents of the importance of teaching them what to do,” she told me.