A quick-thinking construction worker scooped up a collapsed child and ran with him into Walsall Manor Hospital’s Resus Department – with just seconds to spare before the schoolboy lost his life.
Ten-year-old Brooklyn Alwill Foster had gone into diabetic ketoacidosis (a type of diabetic emergency) after becoming unwell a few days’ previously. His family had no idea that he had developed diabetes.
His mum Sophie Foster, 31, had taken him to Walsall Manor Hospital after his lethargy and extreme tiredness alarmed her.
“He just wasn’t himself and while we initially thought it was a tummy bug he suddenly took a turn for the worse and I knew in my gut something was just not right,” said Sophie, of Darlaston.
“My sister took us and we parked at the front of the hospital. He collapsed as we walked to the Emergency Department so I was trying to get a wheelchair when a construction worker came out of a nearby hut, picked him up and just ran all the way into resus.”
That construction manager was Adam Bednall, whose team from Tilbury Douglas had built the new Urgent and Emergency Care Centre where resus is housed. As he knows the centre so well, having been part of the team that delivered it, he knew exactly where to go, saving vital seconds for the medical team to help Brooklyn.
“If Adam hadn’t been there, it could have been a very different ending because we now know that Brooklyn very nearly died that day,” said Sophie. Brooklyn’s dad Craig Alwill, 37, a road worker, was in Lichfield at the time.
“We are so very grateful to Adam – he is a real hero.”
Brooklyn and his parents were able to say thank you in person when Adam popped to the Children’s Ward to check on his recovery. The youngster was playing games, building Lego, and handed over a picture he’d coloured for Adam.
Adam who is a Site Manager at Tilbury Douglas, said: “I didn’t stop to think too much as I could see Brooklyn’s eyes were dilated and I was just talking to him as I ran because I knew it was serious.
“I knew where to go which was another bit of luck as no time was wasted going to reception and waiting. I don’t see myself as a hero – I’m just glad Brooklyn is on the mend and wish the family all the best.”
Steve Cornforth, Lead Resuscitation Officer at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said Adam had definitely saved Brooklyn’s life.
“I don’t usually believe in fate but the events of that day have changed my mind. Adam made the difference between life and death with around 30 seconds to spare,” he said.
“Yes, the medical team acted to help Brooklyn in an efficient and effective way but he was in ketoacidosis when he collapsed and Adam got him to where he absolutely needed to be as quickly as possible.”
The medical team involved invited Adam to a debrief session afterwards too and healthcare professionals are supporting the family to manage Brooklyn’s type 1 diabetes which can go undetected without symptoms in some cases.