A Melbourne mother is seeking two “good Samaritans” who helped her 20-month-old son get urgent medical care after he had a seizure while she was driving.
Key points:
- An unknown couple helped Madeleine Crawford get to the hospital after her son had a seizure while she was driving
- Ms Crawford did not get the couple’s details and wants to find them to show her gratitude
- She believes they were in their 50s and drove a small black sedan
Madeleine Crawford was driving her son Stirling to the Royal Children’s Hospital emergency department on Wednesday, August 3 about 1:50pm.
She told Virginia Trioli on ABC Radio Melbourne her son had been off food and drink for a day and a half, had a fever, chesty cough and was struggling to breathe.
“The GP had done a thorough examination and said sometimes even though you can’t treat the underlying virus, they need help with hydration and breathing,” Ms Crawford said.
“He recommended we get him checked by the pediatricians at the Royal Children’s Hospital.”
But while they were stopped at Churchill Ave waiting to turn right onto Ballarat Road in Maidstone, Ms Crawford noticed her son having a seizure in the rear-view mirror.
“I looked over my shoulder … eyes opening, closing, and rolling, legs jerking and convulsing — everything,” she said.
“It was very distressing. In that moment I thought I could lose him.”
‘Good Samaritans’ arrive to help
Ms Crawford jumped out of the car and got Stirling from the back seat.
She cleared out her airways while “gesturing madly” at the traffic behind her.
Stirling then vomited on her and went limp.
“I just stepped onto the median strip and was just holding him not knowing really what to do,” Ms Crawford said.
She asked a man in the car behind hers to call an ambulance, but then a woman approached her.
“I explained I was already on the way to the hospital, but my boy had a seizure, and I didn’t want to put him down,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
The woman then suggested she could sit in the back seat holding Stirling while Ms Crawford drove to the hospital.
The woman’s partner escorted them in his own car, driving in front with his hazard lights on.
They made it to Footscray hospital where Ms Crawford ran inside, and Stirling was immediately triaged by the nurses.
“I could feel that moment slipping where I wouldn’t be able to get their details because my focus was obviously on my son,” she said.
“But I just looked at them and said, ‘Thank you so much, I’m forever in your debt’.
“And that’s where it was left.”
Wants to ‘thank them properly’
Ms Crawford said Stirling has returned home from hospital and is much better.
He was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which is rising among children across Australia.
But she cannot help but think about the “good Samaritans” who came to her aid.
She is calling out to anyone who may know the couple, who she believes are in their 50s, of Asian descent and driving a small black sedan, to get in touch.
“Their quick, clear thinking and calm demeanour helped ensure that I was able to get my son the medical attention he needed as soon as possible,” Ms Crawford said
“My husband and I are forever in their debt and want to be able to thank them properly.”
If you know this couple, please email [email protected].
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