Proud parents pay tribute to ‘incredible’ young sons

Nursing assistant Natalie Beal, 33, of Dagmar Street, Worthing, has revealed how quick-thinking sons Charlie, seven, and Harry, three, came to her aid when she fell victim to her illness.

She said: “I’m very very lucky to have two children who know what to do and I’m very very proud of both of them.”

On Tuesday morning, Natalie was watching a film with Harry when she had a sudden seizure.

Harry initially called the emergency services and told them his mum was ‘shaking like the Hulk’, however, no-one was sent out as the operator believed the call was a prank.

Fortunately, Harry then called his dad Steve who knew straight away what ‘shaking like the Hulk’ meant, as well as informing a neighbour.

Steve Pease, 29, said the police phoned back around ten minutes later and were ‘incredibly apologetic’ that no-one had been deployed.

He added that while it would have been good if someone had been sent, he did not blame them and praised them for their previous efforts.

Around a month ago, Natalie was walking her boys and a neighbouring girl to school when she had a seizure. Reacting quickly, Charlie stopped a passer-by and got her to call for an ambulance while he did his best to look after his brother and their friend.

Steve said: “I felt proud as punch really. It’s quite a traumatic thing for the kids to watch. To watch your parent go through one must be horrific, especially for a boy that age. To keep calm and do what they have done is something else really.

“It petrifies me they have to go through it and she has to go through it.”

Natalie added: “It’s very emotional to see them go through it and deal with it. It makes me extremely proud of them because without them it could take a long time for me to come out of a fit.”

A few weeks ago, Natalie fell from the top of the stairs to the bottom.

Harry woke up after hearing her shouting and banging and made his way to her. Unable to wake Charlie, he covered Natalie with a blanket and laid down with his head against her chest. Natalie was able to unlock her phone and speed dial for Steve.

“They are incredible children they really are,” she said. “I’m not just saying that from a mum’s point of view. If I was a bystander I would be proud to know them.”

Natalie was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was 18. While she used to have fits, they were infrequent and she was on a low dose of medication. Since the birth of her children, Natalie said her condition had worsened and she has an increased level of medication,

It was not until 2009 that she witnessed someone else having a fit while working in Worthing Hospital.

She said she pulled the emergency chord and waited for someone to come, before running off the ward because of the shock of what she had seen.