Quick-thinking sisters Becky and Beth Dews have been hailed heroes after pulling their mum back from the brink of a potentially-fatal diabetic coma.
Claire Dews, 38, suffered a hypoglycemic attack when her blood sugar levels dropped while she was asleep at home in Alwoodley, Leeds. Her daughters, aged 11 and nine, heard Claire crying at about 4am – but when they went to investigate, were unable to wake her up properly.
They dialled 999 and an ambulance operator told them to do everything they could to stop her losing full consciousness while an ambulance was sent to the scene.
Their efforts meant that when the paramedics arrived, they had nothing to worry about other than getting Claire’s blood sugar levels back up by giving her some glucose.
She was then taken to St James’s Hospital for a check-over before returning home safe and well a few hours later.
Claire, who is separated from Becky and Beth’s dad, said: “I’m extremely proud of the girls – and very grateful as well.
“It would have been easy for them to panic but thankfully they stayed calm – or so I’m told, the first I knew about all this was when I woke up after the ambulance arrived.”
Claire, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 11 years ago, added: “The paramedics did a fantastic job as well, they were great.”
Becky attends Allerton High School while Beth is a pupil at Adel Primary.
David Williams, deputy director of operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, praised the pair: “They carried out the right actions to get help for their mum, didn’t panic and kept reassuring her as directed by our telephone adviser.”
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