A Cockermouth woman who saved her mum’s life will run a half marathon in her honour and raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.
Emilie Lawson-Noctor, 28, performed CPR on her mum, Sian Lawson when she collapsed at home in July 2020.
Sian, who was 50 at the time, had been watching television with Emilie at the home they both then shared in the West Cumbrian town.
Emilie said: “Mum was sitting in front of me on the sofa and I was behind on a chair when she slumped and started gasping for breath. I phoned 999 for an ambulance straight away and they talked me through the CPR.
“I pulled mum off the sofa and did CPR chest compressions for 10 minutes until the ambulance came and took over with a defibrillator.
“It was so horribly scary. I just did everything I could to make sure I was not going to lose her. I lost my dad to cancer when I was 14, so we have been through so much together. I was only 22 at the time and had just finished university. I wasn’t letting her go.”
Sian was taken to Freeman Hospital in Newcastle where she was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, a small electrical device inserted under the skin near the collarbone that can treat people with dangerously abnormal heart rhythms.
Emilie, a teacher in Merseyside, said: “I’d originally been told that if mum survived, she would need to relearn all her basic skills, but thankfully due to her sheer determination and good luck she was back on her feet and her old self in a couple of weeks.
“I’m so grateful for all the research that the British Heart Foundation has funded that has helped people like my mum and for their online CPR training tool.
“It only takes 15 minutes to learn and I would encourage everybody to take the time to do it as you never know when you might need to use it.”
“Mum’s ICD gives us peace of mind that if her heart rhythm ever became abnormal again it will be corrected by the ICD.
“Mum had no underlying heart condition and they never discovered what caused the cardiac arrest, which is hard to come to terms with. We are just so grateful that she is still here.”
Both Emilie and Sian both now live near one another in Chester. Sian is an exam invigilator at Emilie’s school.
Emilie will take part in the Cardiff Half Marathon on October 5.
“We were always extremely close, but this has brought us even closer. I chose the Cardiff Half Marathon because mum is Welsh. She comes from Pontypridd and also because my godfather, Robert encouraged me to do it. He has always been a great support to us both especially after my dad died, so I would love to make him proud.”
People can donate to Emilie fundraising at https://cardiffhalf25.enthuse.com/pf/emilie-lawson
