A little girl has defied the odds to survive after collapsing due to a heart condition – thanks to her quick-thinking godmother who carried out CPR on her.
Sienna Crook, who was 1 at the time, had been taken to the park by her mum Jody Crook and godmother Kaylie Charlery in August last year.
Mum-of-two Jody, 33, told Metro.co.uk: ‘Sienna was on good form. She was just on the verge of walking, and was playing in the sand. She’d also had an ice cream.
‘There were no signs anything was wrong, she was playing and alert. I was holding her on my hip singing nursery rhymes, and she was showing off her new shoes.
‘But Kaylie and I were chatting with one of her friends when Sienna let out a yelp and then threw herself back into my arms.’
She said she thought Sienna had been stung by a wasp, and it was clear ‘something was very wrong’.
The group started walking back to friend Kaylie’s home in Chelmsford, Essex, when Sienna started projectile vomiting. Jody quickly started loading up the car to take her child home when Kaylie suddenly said: ‘Jody, Sienna’s not ok.’
‘The image of what I saw then will haunt me forever,’ Jody said.
‘Sienna’s eyes were rolling in her head and she was gasping for breath. She felt really clammy and her mouth was hanging open while her little arms were stiff. Her body was stiff too.
‘I just screamed for Kaylie to call an ambulance. By this point I had Sienna in my arms and I could feel that I was losing her.
‘Her eyes were rolling and her breathing slowed and then stopped and she flopped in my arms. I remember screaming and falling to my knees begging for help.’
Council worker Kaylie stayed completely calm and called 999, and was immediately told to start CPR on Sienna.
Kaylie, 33, told Metro.co.uk: ‘I’d had no CPR or first aid training so I didn’t really know what to do, but the call operator was brilliant.
‘I went on autopilot. I laid Sienna down flat on her back and lifted her chin to give her mouth to mouth.
‘Then the operator asked me to say “now” every time she took a breath, but she was barely breathing at all, so then I started chest compressions. I was just completely focused on it.
‘I only did one round of chest compressions before the ambulance arrived, and it seemed to happen quickly but also take a long time. Then the paramedics were there and Sienna and Jody were whisked away.’
Just 20 minutes earlier, Jody and Kaylie had taken a selfie with Sienna.
‘Twenty minutes was all it had taken for our lives to completely change,’ Jody added.
As an ambulance rushed Sienna to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, she had a seizure on the way.
Jody said the paramedic told her: ‘I need to prepare you. There will be lots of people waiting for Sienna when we arrive.
‘She needs to go to resuscitation. You are going to see some difficult things.’
Jody added: ‘At this stage I still thought she must have had a horrendous reaction to a wasp sting. Sienna’s body had gone stiff again and her eyes were rolling.
‘She looked paralysed. The paramedic told me this wasn’t normal, but they needed to find out what exactly was wrong.’
An A&E nurse later explained Sienna had gone into cardiac arrest, and at one point prior to this her heart rate was at 312 beats per minute. A normal resting heart rate for a child of Sienna’s age is 80 to 130 beats per minute.
Symptoms of a cardiac arrest
According to the British Heart Foundation, a cardiac arrest usually happens without warning. If someone is in cardiac arrest, they collapse suddenly and:
- Will be unconscious
- Will be unresponsive
- Won’t be breathing or breathing normally – not breathing normally may mean they’re making gasping noises
Without immediate treatment or medical attention, the person will die. If you see someone having a cardiac arrest, phone 999 immediately and start CPR.
You can use the charity’s free digital training tool to learn how to do CPR in 15 minutes here.
After a stay in intensive care and weeks of tests, Sienna was diagnosed with several heart conditions including SVT (supraventricular tachycardia), an irregular heartbeat, a heart murmur, VSD (ventricular septal defect), sick sinus syndrome and later, Brugada syndrome.
She had open heart surgery to install an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) fitted – a device which shocks the heart back into a regular rhythm if the heart goes into sudden cardiac arrest.
Due to her complex case Sienna is now under the care of Royal Brompton Hospital in London, and has check-ups every three months. They are also investigating whether a large birth mark on her left leg could be connected to her heart problems.
Sienna wears a special watch which tracks her heart rate and alerts her mum if anything is wrong.
‘But her resilience has just been incredible,’ Jody added. ‘She’s a strong little girl.
‘Sienna is now walking, and is a very confident, happy child. Her natural character is boisterous.
‘She loves the trampoline but can’t go on it too much as we need to be careful of direct impact to the device or causing her too much discomfort, which we often notice after Sienna has been particularly energetic.
‘Thankfully she’s been really healthy. She’s here for a reason and we just have to stay as positive as we can.’
Since Sienna’s diagnosis with Brugada syndrome her brother Theo, 5, has also been diagnosed, as has Jody and her dad, Steve Whellam. Sienna’s dad Jamie Crook, 32, is clear.
Jody said: ‘I have no shame in admitting the events of the last year has taken a tremendous toll on my mental health and changed me as person, but slowly I am finding my way and learning to navigate a new normal for our family.’
Following the family’s heart health revelations, the Crooks have since raised £30,000 for the Royal Brompton Hospital to go towards dedicated research into Brugada syndrome to be shared with the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
As well as a charity ball next month to raise awareness of the condition, they are running a charity golf day, bake sales and a skydive to continue their fundraising efforts. They are also working to increase access to defibrillators and awareness of how to do CPR.
Sienna, now 2, has also been nominated for a BHF Young Heart Hero Award for her strength, attitude and resilience in light of her complex condition. The charity is partnering with Metro.co.uk for media coverage of its Heart Hero Awards this year.
‘We are so lucky to still have Sienna, it could have been different,’ Jody added.
‘You never think it’ll be your family, it’s always something that happens on the TV or that you read about, and then it happened and it shattered our worlds and our hearts, but we want to help other families and we want to save lives.
‘We also want to raise awareness of CPR training and defibrillators – again something I don’t think people truly understand the importance of until personally affected, which can sadly sometimes be too late. ’
What is Brugada syndrome?
According to the NHS website, Brugada syndrome is a rare but serious condition that affects the way electrical signals pass through the heart.
It can cause the heart to beat dangerously fast. These unusually fast heartbeats, called an arrhythmia, can sometimes be life threatening.
Brugada syndrome is usually caused by a faulty gene that’s inherited by a child from a parent. A test can be done to see if you have it.
Many people with Brugada syndrome do not have any symptoms and do not realise they have it. But some people experience:
- Blackouts
- Fits (seizures)
- Occasional noticeable heartbeats (palpitations)
- Chest pain
- Breathlessness
- Dizziness
You can get symptoms at any time, but they are sometimes triggered by something such as a high temperature, drinking lots of alcohol, or dehydration.
Symptoms often first appear during adulthood, but they can happen at any age. They’re more common in men than in women or children.
Godmother Kaylie said: ‘I really do think that Sienna gave me the strength that I needed that day and as far how far she’s come and how hard she’s fought, I think her courage, bravery and personality have changed us all.
‘She made one of the most traumatic things you can ever think of bearable. I’m so proud of her and of them as a family.
‘They have been able to take the positives from what happened to try and do something good through fundraising and raising awareness of heart health.
‘Their whole lives have changed and I know it’s not been easy for them to share their story – there are a lot of raw emotions there. It’s inspirational and I can’t really put it into words.
‘I think it’s incredible that Sienna has been nominated for a Heart Hero Award. It’s so well deserved. I’m so proud to be her godmother – it really is an honour to call myself that.’
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The British Heart Foundation Heart Hero Awards 2022
A BHF Heart Hero, with Metro.co.uk as its media partner this year, can be anyone from a healthcare professional doing exceptional work, to a young person living with heart disease that has shown incredible courage and determination, to an inspiring fundraiser who has found creative ways to help fund research.
Those shortlisted will be invited to an awards ceremony hosted by Vernon Kay in London on December 1, when the winners will be announced.
Judging of the categories is now complete with Scottish footballer Scott Allan and TV and radio presenter Will Njobvu among this year's celebrity judges.
But the Young Heart Hero and CPR Hero categories remain open to nominations throughout the year.
The awards ceremony raises awareness of the continued need for funding for the pioneering research that is turning science fiction into reality, and providing hope for more than seven million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory conditions.
To find out more about the categories or to make a nomination, visit the British Heart Foundation website.