How 'brave' Dudley girl's quick thinking saved her grandad's life when he suffered heart attack while babysitting
A "brave" girl has received an award after her quick thinking and initiative saved her grandad’s life.
Abigail Smith from Dudley was presented with an Royal Humane Society award at the West Midlands Police Chief Constable Achievement Awards on Tuesday night by Chief Constable Craig Guildford and PCC Simon Foster.
The audience heard how the nine-year-old sprang into action on November 22, 2022 when her grandad Steve Smith became seriously unwell as he was babysitting for her and her younger sister, aged seven.
Realising he needed help, she remained calm and immediately called 999.
When the call handler asked for his address, she quickly searched the house and found a letter with it on.
She was able to tell the call handler what it was and stayed on the line until the ambulance arrived.
Mr Smith was then swiftly taken to hospital where it was confirmed he has suffered a serious heart attack but, thanks to Abigail’s bravery and calmness, he survived and has since undergone a triple heart bypass.
Abigail said: “It was really scary when it happened but I knew I had to be the big person and stay calm because my little sister was so frightened.
“I knew I had to look for a letter to check for the address and I was glad I could find one. I am really close to my grandad, we have a really good bond, so I am just really happy he’s okay.”
Mr Smith said: “I don’t remember a thing about that day, but I am doing fine now and I am so proud of Abigail, what she did was amazing.”
It was thanks to a stroke of luck that just two weeks earlier, she has been visited by Dudley PCSOs at her school.
As part of their valuable community work, Simon Verity-Harris and Deb Hancox had taught Abigail and her class at Dudley Wood Primary what to do in a first aid emergency, including the key advice on how to check what address they were at if somebody needed help.
Mr Verity-Harris said: “We are so thrilled that the work we do made an impact in such a big way on Abigail.
“We do lots of work with schools in Dudley and we absolutely love being able to work with the pupils on how to be a good citizen .
“We’re so happy and relieved that on this occasion Abigail listened so brilliantly and acted on what she learned.”
