THE quick-thinking actions of a six-year-old boy saved his mum’s life when her heart stopped, causing her to fall down the stairs.

Tyler-Jay Faulkner immediately called his father when his mum Annemarie Marsden suddenly fell ill at home on the evening of Monday, October 7.

Tyler-Jay was told by his dad Tommy Faulkner to phone 999 and slapped Annemarie’s face to get her to come round.

Tommy said: “The doctors said they think her heart stopped beating and that if he hadn’t managed to wake her, she wouldn’t have survived, so he really did save her life.

Tyler-Jay Faulkner with mum Annemarie Marsden
Tyler-Jay Faulkner with mum Annemarie Marsden

“He’s very smart but really, he’s just a normal little boy. You never really expect a young person to be able to do something like that and stay so calm. He was chatting away to the paramedic when I arrived.”

Annemarie was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital where she was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic condition where the wall of the heart muscle becomes thickened, making it harder to pump blood around the body.

On Wednesday, October, 9, she was transferred to the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital where she underwent surgery to have an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) fitted.

The ICD is a small device which regulates abnormal heart rhythms by giving the heart electric shocks.

Annemarie had been suffering from heart palpitations and dizzy spells on and off for six weeks before the episode.

She was discharged from hospital on Thursday, October 10, and is recovering at home.

She has been advised to avoid any strenuous activity for the next six weeks so Tommy has moved in to help her with Tyler-Jay and their eight-month-old baby boy Bobby-Ray.

Tommy said he and Annemarie were ‘made up’ with the treatment she received at both hospitals: “I was very impressed, especially by how fast she was transferred to Liverpool. We were only there for half an hour before she was prepped for the procedure.”

Tyler-Jay, who only celebrated his sixth birthday on October, 1, returned to William Stockton Community Primary School the next day.

Tommy said: “He’s fine now, he’s enjoying all the praise from everyone.”