A six-year-old boy from Northern Ireland was hailed as a hero when he enlisted the help of an Amazon driver to help his mother after a scary incident at home.
Elizabeth Crooks, a 26-year-old mother of three, fainted after reportedly suffering a severe case of postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition in which the heart rate quickly spikes due to suddenly standing up from a sitting or lying down position.
Crooks' boy Aiden happened to notice an Amazon driver making a delivery through the home's Ring doorbell cam and ran out to seek help when his mother was unresponsive.
Footage from the home surveillance camera showed the child, who appeared calm in the moment of distress, receiving a parcel from the driver and then politely asking him:
“Excuse me, can you help my mum? She fainted, can you help her?”
Without hesitation, the driver let himself in and made sure the gate was secured behind him before tending to the situation. He called for paramedics and stayed with the boy and his mother until the ambulance arrived.
Crooks was taken to the local hospital and survived, thanks to Aiden's quick thinking and the driver's help.
The video of Ring footage was uploaded to TikTok and seen by millions of people around the world.
You can see the viral clip here.
According to Indy 100, Crooks recalled of her scary medical emergency:
“My heart rate wouldn’t calm down, just kept getting faster, and I couldn’t even sit up."
“My heart rate hit 180, I felt like I couldn’t breathe and passed out.”
Crooks told Belfast Live:
"My partner was at work."
"It was actually my birthday of all days, the 20th of July. I woke up and felt generally unwell. I was tired, fatigued."
"I decided not to go out with the kids, to stay in - just in case. I felt a bit dizzy and normally it settles when you lie down, but it just wasn't settling down."
"I started to get really, really dizzy and I thought 'I'm going to pass out here'. I decided to ring for help. I rang 999 first and got talking to them."
She continued:
"I rang my mum afterwards but she doesn't drive, so had to get the bus which takes a bit longer. I said to the kids 'mummy isn't feeling well, can you stay where I can see you'. I remember feeling light headed and then... I do not remember."
"It was such a shock to the system. When I came round, all I could see was the high-visibility vest so I automatically thought it was the paramedics to be honest."
"And Aiden had wrapped me in a blanket and went and got a bucket. Obviously I had said 'mummy doesn't feel well' so he must have thought that meant I was going to be sick."
Those who can relate to her condition weighed in.
@requination/TikTok
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Following her recovery, Crooks discovered Aiden seeking the Amazon driver's help on the surveillance camera and said it was "so heartwarming" to see how calm Aiden was and how he even said "excuse me" to get the driver's attention.
"I was so proud of Aidan - even saying 'she's fainted', I don't know if I've ever used that term," said Crooks.
She added of Aiden:
"Now, he did break down crying in the ambulance, God bless him."
"Without my son there, I could have been a lot more ill or possibly still unconscious."
@requination/TikTok
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Crooks said she also managed to track down the Amazon driver, whose name is Bryan, and thanked him for his kindness.
"You can tell he's kind of a shy guy," she said of Bryan, who was in shock over his viral status after his sister-in-law found the footage online.
@requination/TikTok
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Crooks explained that she has a neurological condition causing her to have seizures and mobility issues, including a recent symptom leading to a "really fast heart rate and fainting."
"They believe it's POTS, but they are awaiting on a cardiologist signing off on that [diagnosis]," she said, adding:
"The neurological condition is Functional Neurological Disorder, FND. It's actually one of the main reasons someone goes to a neurologist. For me, it's my mobility, pain, spasms, really frequently tired."
"Day to day, the main things would be mobility, balance and pain. It actually has similar symptoms to MS but it's not progressive."
"Thankfully I do have very good family support, especially here in the local area. I do have people to call, thankfully."
Crooks noted that the scary situation involving Aiden "was just a very bad day for it to happen, with people away on holidays so no one was really around."
Luckily, her little boy took control of the situation by teaming up with the Amazon driver to help save her life.
@requination/TikTok
@requination/TikTok
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@requination/TikTok
Crooks has since started an online fundraiser to install a panic button on her property so her kids can use it in the event of a similar emergency in the future. She also plans to reward Bryan with a gift for his kindness.
"Would love to make their life more safe and say a proper thank you to Bryan!," she wrote on the campaign page, which has since exceeded more than twice its modest goal of reaching USD 640.
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