An Adelaide mother who saved her son’s life after he had a cardiac arrest is advocating for more people to learn CPR.
Nurse Libby Thomas, 34, said her eight-year-old son, Jacob, woke up on January 15 complaining of itchy skin.
Thinking it was eczema, Thomas started to apply cream to Jacob’s skin, before the young boy suddenly fainted and hit his head on the floor.
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“He got straight back up and said, ‘mum, I don’t feel well’ and he fell backwards and collapsed (again),” she said.
“He was groaning, and (I was) trying to get him to talk to me and (I) kept shouting ‘breathe’, but he couldn’t communicate.”
Thomas called triple-0, but while she was on the phone, her son stopped breathing.
Thomas said she went into “autopilot” and started to perform CPR, before the ambulance arrived to take Jacob to hospital.
Thomas, who is a nurse, and has instructed trainings on CPR for Surf Life Saving SA, knew what to do in the freighting situation.
She said regardless of profession, every person should be trained to perform CPR.
“I saw a lot of doctors and every single one congratulated me on saving his life,” Thomas said.
“You just never know whose life you could potentially save, your child’s or a stranger on the street.”
Jacob, who has already been in an Adelaide hospital for four weeks, will be transferred to The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne where a team of doctors will conduct tests to determine the cause of the boy’s cardiac arrest.
The eight-year old has had two previous medical episodes — in January 2022, and mid-2023. The family first thought they were seizures, but doctors have not been able to confirm the cause.
Doctors did confirm Jacob’s latest medical episode was a cardiac arrest, and are worried there is a risk it could happen again.
There is an online fundraiser to help Thomas, who is a single mum, cover Jacob’s medical bills, and living costs as she takes time away from work.
“I’m trying to be strong for Jacob … trying not to scare him … I feel like I’m in survival mode,” Thomas said
