Mum hails ‘angel’ who saved daughter found bleeding after seizure

Allie Blackshaw (25) from Worksop, had been finishing a shopping trip at Meadowhall Shopping Centre with her brother and her son when she discovered Charlotte Hoggard, from Rotherham, lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

Charlotte, who lives with epilepsy, had suffered a seizure and collapsed, hitting her head on a marble pillar reinforced with metal, causing serious damage to her skull.

Allie, who works as a support worker for Mencap, immediately stepped in to help.

“I started timing Charlotte’s seizure because I know how important it is to time a seizure and call an ambulance if it goes on longer than five minutes.”

A passer-by called an ambulance while Allie carried out seizure first aid.

Meadowhall security also attended the scene and another passer-by helped Allie place Charlotte in the recovery position once the seizure had stopped.

Charlotte’s mother, Sam, nominated Allie for the award after doctors said the intervention may have saved her daughter’s life.

“The neurosurgeons who looked after Charlotte in the hospital told me that if she hadn’t have had head protection after that initial blow to her head – because her seizure then went on for three-and-a-half minutes – she could have died,” she said.

Sam also praised Allie for checking Charlotte’s smartwatch to find her emergency contact information.

“For me, apart from the fact that Allie protected Charlotte’s head from turning to mush, that was the most important part.

"The paramedics didn’t even know that you could access that information on a watch,” she added.

“This gave me the ability to get in the car and get to my daughter when she was in that state.

"I feel like it would have been robbed from me if I couldn’t have been there with her.

“Allie ran towards what must have been a frightening and chaotic situation without hesitation.

“She protected Charlotte’s head with her own baby’s blanket, did everything correctly from a medical point of view, and had the presence of mind to gently warn me that what I was about to see would be hard.

“In our darkest moment, Allie was quite literally our angel.

"Our gratitude is very difficult to put into words.”

Rebekah Smith, chief executive of Epilepsy Action, said: “Allie is a leading example of an epilepsy ally, and we hope that when people hear this story, if they’re not already familiar, they are inspired to learn seizure first-aid.

“Our CARE acronym (Comfort, Action, Reassure, Emergency) is a simple way to remember how to help someone having a seizure, and having this knowledge can make all the difference.

“We’re also impressed by Allie’s quick-thinking to check Charlotte for any medical ID, as we advise under the ‘Action’ section of CARE.

“Locating Charlotte’s emergency information on her smartwatch equipped Allie with the knowledge that Charlotte had epilepsy and crucially enabled her to alert her loved ones, who were able to come and be with her.

“We’re so pleased to recognise Allie’s bravery and quick-thinking and hope her actions inspire others to learn more about epilepsy.”