A young girl was ignored by bystanders when she thought her mum was dead after she collapsed in the street. The nine-year-old was rejected by five people when she asked for help, reports Manchester Evening News.
The incident occurred when Lexi Longden was walking home after shopping with her mum Leanne last week in Greater Manchester. The mother then suddenly suffered a seizure close to a Tesco petrol station and collapsed to the floor on January 7.
As the parent lay half on and half off the kerb, her daughter ran over to the forecourt to get help. However, her dad, Billy, says she was either ignored or people said they were 'too busy'.
The youngster was unsure of what to do and called her father who set off in his van to pick them up. As he was a distance away from the petrol station he told Lexi to go back in and ask again.
Billy said: "I was about a 10 or 15 minute drive away so I presumed that when I got there someone would have been there helping Lexi. But when I got there Lexi was still on her own with her mum.
"She'd called me to tell me what had happened so I said 'go and get help', but she said 'daddy, nobody is helping me'. At one point she said 'mum's dead', but I said 'no she's not, she just needs to come back round.
"She'd gone back asking people a couple of times saying 'excuse me, can you help' and from the petrol station they would have been able to see Leanne on the floor as the path is right next to it. I just can't believe that nobody would help her.
"It's just sad really." Eventually, once the dad arrived at the scene, one man and a Tesco staff member came over to both help him put Leanne in the van.
Leanne has been suffering seizures since last summer and is undergoing to tests to find out what is causing them. This latest episode is not the first time Lexi has been on hand to help.
Last year, the nine-year-old had to call an ambulance after her mum collapsed at home. Leanne said: "She's been so brave."
"I had the first one in August. I don't know if they were brought on by Covid as I had that a few weeks before but it's being looked at.
"I just feel sorry for Lexi as she tried so hard to help. She hurt her hand as she was protecting my head as it was hitting the floor.
She said 'I tried to get help but nobody came. She's OK, she's strong and she just gets on with it, but it's sad that she was left alone to deal with it for so long."
The mother added: "I just want to raise awareness as not many people know what to do in that situation. You need to make sure they're in a safe place, make sure that they don't bang their head and keep them calm, but don't hold them down as it can be dangerous.
"Time the seizure if you can and ring 999 and put them in recovery position."
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