A Scottish boy who was just 6 when he helped to save his mother’s life after she collapsed is backing a petition calling for first aid to be taught in all Scottish primary schools.
Lyndsey Baxter, who suffers from chronic heart failure and is waiting for a new heart, says she owes her life to her “hero” son, following his actions two-and-a-half years ago.
In April 2016, when her son Cayden Mcauley was just 6, she fell unconscious while walking to the shops with him.
Having learned some basic first aid from the nurses at the hospital where his mother is a regular inpatient, Cayden managed to sit her up against a wall, used his own jacket to keep her warm and, unable to unlock his mother’s phone, sought the help of a passing taxi driver to call an ambulance.
The Glasgow boy, now aged 8, is backing St Andrew’s First Aid’s public petition, which calls for basic first aid to be taught at all primary schools and is open until 6 December.
Earlier this year, MSPs called for a defibrillator to be installed in every school and MPs said that pupils should leave school with basic life-support skills.
The call followed the death of Jayden Orr, a 10-year-old ice skater from Port Glasgow who died last August after collapsing on an ice rink. In January, the Show Some Heart campaign was launched in Jayden’s memory by his parents, with a target of reaching £50,000 to fund a defibrillator in every school in Inverclyde.
Life-saving skills
Ms Baxter, who described the St Andrew’s First Aid petition as “both really positive and really important” said: “The incident when I passed out must have been very scary for [Cayden]. He says it felt like a lifetime in trying to get help. If it wasn’t for his actions and calm approach in knowing what to do, it could have been a very different ending.
“I literally owe my life to him and he will always be my hero.”
Since the incident in April 2016, Cayden has gone on to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which he undertook at a free Save a Life for Scotland partnership event at Glasgow Live!, and has also been shortlisted in this year’s St Andrew’s First Aid Scottish First Aid Awards.
He said: “With mum’s condition, it is really important to me to know what to do if something happens to her. I feel a lot more confident having the first aid skills that I have learned.
“It would be great if other children had the opportunity to learn first aid, too, so that they could help other people or members of their family, should they ever need it.”
Stuart Callison, chief executive of St Andrew’s First Aid, said if children were equipped with even basic first aid knowledge they could “make a real difference and potentially save someone’s life”.
