When Harkness resident Emelia Jenkins’ mother Kristina Parkhill fell unconscious, Emelia sprung into action, called triple-0, and remained calm to follow instructions before the ambulance arrived.
Now, she is one of 19 young people across the state who received a Triple Zero Victoria Junior Triple Hero Award this year.
Ms Parkhill, who has type one diabetes, became unconscious due to low blood sugar.
She said that as she had taught Emelia since she was four the actions to take in an emergency, Emelia, who was nine-years-old at the time of the call, tried to remain calm and knew exactly what to do.
According to Triple Zero Victoria, Emelia told call-taker Laura Bennett that her mother was unresponsive – painting “a really clear picture of what was happening with her mum” ahead of ambulance arrival – and followed all instructions to perform a breathing check.
“[I] taught her how to unlock my phone, call triple-0, [and] how to open the front door with keys to let in paramedics and to let them know what my medical condition is,” Ms Parkhill said.
“I listened to her call [recording], and at the start of the call, she sounded … really scared and like she was about to start crying, but then as the call progressed, she just got more brave and did everything that the dispatcher told her to do – like check my breathing,” she said.
“She’s very mature for her age and quick-thinking. Her little brother was there at the time, he would have been six … [she] said he did nothing … he was watching Peppa Pig!”
Ms Parkhill said Emelia was proud and very excited to receive the award, counting down the days until she received her medal and bringing it to school to show other students on Friday, July 4.
Emelia received her medal at the Melbourne Museum on Wednesday, July 2, with all recipients receiving their awards alongside the triple-0 call-takers who responded to the young heroes’ calls.
“She really wanted to meet Laura [Bennett] — Laura was the dispatcher who took the call and nominated Emelia,” she said.
Ms Parkhill said Emelia wanted to encourage other students at her school that “they can do the same thing – they can be brave too.”
