Mum saved by quick-thinking 13-year-old daughter who learnt CPR at primary school

Mum saved by quick-thinking 13-year-old daughter who learnt CPR at primary school Lois Johnson, 37, was given CPR by her quick-thinking 13-year-old daughter Keva when she suddenly collapsed at home - and says she will be 'forever grateful to her' A mum has told how her brave 13-year-old daughter saved her life with CPR she learnt at school when she suddenly collapsed at home. Lois Johnson, 37, was getting ready for bed and turning off the lights in the living room when she experienced a sudden, "intense" shooting pain in her head just before Christmas last year. The single mum recalls shouting for her daughter Keva as the pain - which felt "like being stabbed in the head with a hot knife" - worsened, and seconds later she blacked out. Her younger daughter Alyssa, 11, was already in bed, while 13-year-old Keva rushed to help her mum and look after her little brother Saul, now three. Keva found Lois lying on the floor, having seizures and vomiting. When her mum stopped breathing, she called an ambulance and began giving CPR, which she had learned at primary school three years earlier. She continued to give the life-saving aid for around 15 minutes until paramedics from North West Ambulance Service arrived and took over. "It was a sharp, stabbing pain, which is the way my migraines normally start, but something must have been different," said Lois. "I don't even remember falling to the floor. The next thing I remember is waking up in a dark hospital room with no one around me. I didn't know where I was or what had happened. "I had no phone and no shoes on my feet. I just panicked and jumped out of bed." Lois was discharged later that day and returned home, where she found out that Keva's quick thinking and CPR had likely saved her life. It was the first time she had suffered a medical episode of that kind, although several months earlier she had a hemiplegic migraine, which caused her face to droop and her body to weaken on one side. Keva later explained to her mum that during the episode Lois had fallen and hit her head, suffered seizures and then stopped breathing. Since April, Lois says she has experienced 76 seizures, which Keva has helped her endure. She has learnt how to keep her mum safe during an episode, including placing her in the recovery position. "It's really frightening," says Lois. "My whole body starts to shake violently and I can hear everything that is going on around me, but I can't communicate." Lois has since been diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition affecting how the brain sends and receives signals through the nervous system. It can cause a wide range of symptoms, including seizures, weakness, problems with movement and difficulties with speech. "It basically means the software in my brain isn't working properly; it misfires signals," Lois says. "I need regular physiotherapy, speech and occupational therapy, and I am learning to keep calm when it happens." Lois also lives with asthma and fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that can cause widespread pain, fatigue and increased sensitivity to pain. She also has five meningiomas, tumours arising from the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Most meningiomas are non-cancerous, although their effects can vary depending on their size and location. The impact of Lois's seizures has been difficult for the whole family, particularly Keva. "It was really frightening for her and it affected her a lot," says Lois. "She's been frightened to leave my side. But she's been right next to me through everything. She knows how to handle my seizures and what to do if I'm not breathing. "She's so brave and strong - an absolute hero. I don't think I would be here today without her." According to new research from St John's Ambulance, one in five men say they would hesitate to give CPR to a woman in public for fear of being filmed and posted on social media and almost a third (31%) of men said they would hesitate to perform life-saving CPR on a woman in public for fear of such accusations. A spokesman for St John's Ambulance, said: "When someone is in cardiac arrest, every second counts. Early CPR can double the chances of survival, yet some people hesitate when the person needing help is a woman because they are worried about touching her chest. "Too many lives are at risk when people hesitate. We want everyone to feel confident stepping forward and giving potentially life-saving first aid, because when it comes to cardiac arrest, doing something is always better than doing nothing. Our ambition is to put the power of first aid into everybody's hands, so that more of us can be closer to help in an emergency." Lois hopes her experience will encourage people to act when somebody needs help, regardless of their gender. "I want people to be aware of my story so they know to step in whenever someone needs CPR," she says. "It doesn't matter whether they are someone's daughter, mum or aunty, male or female. Everyone deserves a chance." "I am just so happy to be here today and to get to see my kids. And I am so grateful for Keva. "She saved my life and I'll be forever grateful to her."