Six-year-old Aurora Chilvers from Rainworth, Nottinghamshire received a bravery award from EMAS. This was for coming to her mum’s rescue when she became seriously unwell at home on 24 January 2024.
32-year-old Beth Chilvers started to display the symptoms of a stroke. Her speech began to slur, and she struggled to move. Beth was also finding it hard to lift her arms and felt a sudden headache.
Beth took herself to bed, hoping this would ease how she was feeling. However, her symptoms only intensified before six-year-old Aurora found her.
Aurora remained calm while faced with a distressing situation. As there was no other adult at home, she rang her granddad for help, who then called 999 to request an ambulance.
The call was answered by Emergency Medical Advisor, Hayley Hodson. Upon receiving the information from Aurora’s grandad, Hayley called Aurora directly.
Hayley said: “Aurora was able to tell me what was happening with her mum’s symptoms as Beth was struggling to speak.
“Before the crew arrived, Aurora had put their kitten in another room and made sure the door was unlocked.
“She did exceptionally well during the phone call and answered a lot for her age.”
Aurora’s grandmother arrived during the call between Hayley and Aurora. Arriving after were ambulance technicians Richard O’Connor and Barbara Robinson.
At the reunion, Barbara added: “It’s nice to see Aurora get the recognition that she deserves because she did a really good job of getting help for her mum.IMG_2346.jpg
“It’s also been lovely to see Beth looking so well since the last time me and Richard responded to her in the ambulance.”
Speaking of that evening, Beth said: “I was light-headed and coughing.
“I thought to have a hot bath to steam it out of my system. I was later told by the ambulance crew that this was the worst thing I could have done.
“Having such a severe migraine followed by taking a hot bath sent my body into shock, causing it to react the way it did.
“My temperature spiked to over 40 degrees Celsius, and I started to shiver and shake.
“I made my way to my bedroom and flopped on to my bed.
“When I saw Aurora come into my room all I could say was things like ‘help’, ‘try granddad’, and ‘try mamma’.
“When EMAS called back after my dad spoke to them, all I could do was lift my finger to answer the call. Aurora did all the explaining once the call was answered.
“As a single mum, I’ve always had that anxiety of thinking what would happen if I was ever in a situation of needing emergency medical help.
“I always drilled into Aurora that if ever mummy is in pain or passed out, you get mummy’s phone and ask for help, which she then did for me when I really needed it. I’m so proud of her!”
“The crew were also amazing with Aurora. They gave her a torch which they use to check your eyes, which she still plays with.
“Aurora says she know wants to be a fire lady or police lady when she’s older.”
While it’s unclear why Beth’s body reacted the way it did, luckily it wasn’t a stroke.
Beth added: “I’m back to normal and able to do exactly the same things as I did before my medical emergency.”
