Nine-year-old boy from Haywards Heath called 999 for mum after she collapsed from heart condition: "I couldn't be prouder of him!"

Hannah Heasman, 32, of Franklynn Road, said her boy Riley kept calm and dialled 999 so she could get treatment quickly.

Hannah, who has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), had a 'flare up' on June 20 at about 6.30am after her husband Michael, 40, had left for work.

She said: “I started to feel unwell, so I got myself to the bathroom, crawling on my hands and knees as I was extremely dizzy.

“The next thing I remember I was waking up on the bathroom floor with my nine-year-old son over me.”

Hannah said Riley got help from her neighbour and rang Michael before dialling 999 himself for the first time.

“I just remember little bits of him talking,” said Hannah. “He said ‘my mummy’s not very well and she has a heart condition’.”

“He was extremely calm and I couldn’t be prouder of him,” she said.

Riley then assisted paramedics when they turned up and they took Hannah to the Princess Royal hospital to stabilise her.

Hannah, who also has a five-year-old daughter called Keira, said that POTS is an unusual increase in heart rate that can happen after sitting up or standing.

It is an abnormal response by the autonomic nervous system, which causes her to experience dizziness, palpitations, fatigue, severe headaches, chest pains, heat intolerance, brain fog and blood pooling in her hands and feet.

It also comes on without warning.

Hannah said she fell out of the bath in February, cracking her ribs down her left side, and now needs to have her husband with her when she bathes.

“What I’d really like to do is raise awareness of this condition because it’s not very well heard of at all,” she said.

Hannah said she and Michael had planned some treats for Riley including a special Chinese takeaway and days out in the summer holidays.

SECAmb emergency medical advisor Sasha Mayes, who took Riley’s call, said: “Riley did an amazing job and his quick thinking ensured his mum got the help she needed.

“He stayed calm throughout the call and followed all of my instructions.

“He should be really proud of his actions. Well done Riley.”