Elizabeth Crooks, 26, lives in Northern Ireland with her three children, the eldest being six-year-old Aiden.
Crooks, who suffers from multiple health issues, experienced a postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) episode on July 20. POTS is a condition in which a person’s heart rate rapidly increases upon standing. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, it is an autonomic nervous system disorder with symptoms like dizziness, nausea, and fatigue.
“My heart rate wouldn’t slow down; it just kept getting faster, and I couldn’t even sit up,” the mother of three told Newsweek.
She called for an ambulance but worried that it might take a long time to arrive since she wasn’t experiencing chest pain and was still conscious.
Soon after, she added, “My heart rate hit 180; I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I passed out.”
Her quick-thinking son was then caught on the family’s Ring doorbell running to the yard to ask an Amazon delivery driver for help, who immediately took action.
On July 21, Crooks shared a video on her TikTok account, @n.irishmum, showing Aiden receiving a package from the driver and saying, “Excuse me. Can you help my mother?”
He explains that his mother has “fainted,” and the driver opens the gate and quickly enters the house.
The video then cuts to the delivery driver talking on the phone with emergency responders, explaining the situation and noting that there were two young children in the house.
Crooks told Newsweek that she believed she had been unconscious for about 20 minutes when her son and daughter noticed the delivery man and brought him inside.
“He realized how serious it was and called for help, so I received treatment much faster. By the time the ambulance arrived, about 20 minutes later, I was coming around, but I was pale with blue lips.”
She explained that she became ill on her birthday and had planned to take Aiden and his 5-year-old sister out for snacks and a movie but decided to stay in instead as she wasn’t feeling well. Her youngest child was not with her at the time.
After receiving treatment from medical professionals, who believe Crooks experienced a “bad episode” of POTS, and recovering in the hospital, she decided to share the video on TikTok, adding a caption that highlights the importance of discussing emergency procedures with your kids.
The video has garnered over 400,000 views since it was posted just a day ago, with hundreds of comments praising both the quick-thinking children and the delivery driver.
“The fact he didn’t hesitate is amazing,” one TikTok user commented, while another insisted that “he deserves recognition for what he did.” “What a lovely man!”
“Such a clever little boy, and well done to that driver,” another commenter added.
“We need to find this man and give him the recognition he deserves,” one TikToker suggested.
Crooks told Newsweek that she has since contacted the driver and had a brief conversation to thank him.
She has been “overwhelmed” by the massive response to her story and is “grateful that it has gone viral.”
“Hopefully, it can remind other parents of the importance of teaching their children what to do in emergencies,” she said.