A proud mother has shared the moment her 7-year-old daughter saved her life by keeping a cool head in a medical emergency -- and watching over her baby brother at the same time.
Rhian, 32, who gave her first name only, lives in Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom, and is mom to Jessica, 7, and 2-year-old Brody.
In early 2025, Rhian had been suffering what she described to Newsweek as "funny turns," which "most of the time would turn into a seizure." Until this point, her medical episodes had happened in public, with people nearby to give her assistance.
But Rhian knew this might not always be the case. And so she had sat her young daughter down and explained to her what she should do in an emergency situation if there weren't any adults around to help, ensuring she knew their address, and how to call 999 -- the British equivalent of 911.
And in February, just a few weeks after she turned 7, Jessica was put to the test -- saving her mother's life in the process.
"I had felt like I was getting a little bit of a cold, and starting feeling as if I was going to throw up," Rhian said, adding that they had all been watching TV in the sitting room at the time. "I took myself upstairs to the bathroom, and proceeded to be sick."
That, Rhian said, is when things went "blackout": she suffered a seizure at the top of the stairs, then fell down the full flight, landing on the bottom and continuing to seizure.
"Jessica had heard some banging noises and came to check, and noticed I was on the floor unconscious and having a seizure. She remembered our previous conversations, and got my phone -- she unlocked with my fingerprint -- and called 999.
"She spoke with a fantastic call handler called Sophie, who helped Jessica keep me safe until the paramedics arrived."
On August 25, Rhian shared a video to her TikTok account, @rhianhx, which showed Jessica and medical dispatcher Sophie's conversation, calling her "my hero."
In the audio, when asked if the patient was breathing, Jessica said she didn't know, and that her mother was lying on the floor. Sophie explained it to her in child terms, asking if mom's chest was going up and down, and Jessica confirmed it was -- but she couldn't tell if she was awake.
Sophie gleaned the information from Jessica that Rhian was "lying on the floor and shaking" with her eyes closed, and didn't have any solid objects in her mouth that she could choke on. Sophie sent an ambulance to the house, and kept Jessica on the phone, asking her name and age, and introducing herself to help keep Jessica calm, praising her for doing "really, really well."
Jessica stayed on the phone, telling Rhian that "help's coming, mummy" -- until the ambulance crew could be heard arriving at their home and introducing themselves.
Proud mom Rhian captioned the video: "When your (just turned) seven-year-old daughter literally helps to save your life. So incredibly blessed."
Rhian told Newsweek that, while it was not heard in the audio clip, Jessica had even helped clear her airways when she began to vomit, which was "crucial" because of the way she was lying on the floor.
Rhian added: "Jessica unlocked the front door for the paramedics when they arrived, and then took my son, her brother, into another room to play so he didn't have to see what was going on."
Rhian, who suffered tissue damage in her neck due to the fall, praised the "brilliant" paramedics, who put her in a brace and rushed her to the hospital, where scans finally unveiled answers to the medical episodes she had been having.
"I have quite a large hole in my heart, and had been having mini strokes, as well as blood clots on my brain. I'm now currently awaiting heart surgery, and I am on lots of different medication for the rest of the findings, including epilepsy medication -- which I was diagnosed with shortly afterwards."
Rhian said she didn't always go to ER after prior seizures due to the "extreme" exhaustion, and added that "if Jessica had not called 999 that day, I'm not sure how long it would have taken before the other medical issues would have come to light. I've since suffered with a lot of memory loss, which I'm hoping over time will return. However, that feels like a small price to pay."
TikTok viewers were in awe at the story, watching the video more than 223,000 times, as one commenter wrote they were "in tears," adding: "What a brave girl."
Another posted: "I do this job and the way child callers handle this never fails to amaze me. Little super stars every single one of them. And I always make sure to tell them they should be proud of themselves before I end the call."
"I had to do this when I was 8," a third viewer shared. "My epileptic mum keeled over in front of me. I'd only learned how to use the phone the week before (this was in the 90s)."
Rhian said that now, even months later, she is "still in a lot of shock" at how Jessica handled the emergency and is "so extremely proud of her." Her bravery was recognized by the paramedics too, who put the 7-year-old forward for a bravery award which her school presented to her in May of this year.
Now, Rhian is "trying to do what I can to make parents aware about how important it is for children to know what to do in emergency situations, and the right numbers to call."
The mom added: "Jessica previously thought 999 was for police, but now she knows it’s for all emergency services, and I have that peace of mind that if she ever needed to call, for whatever reason, that she knows what to do."