'A glass of water saved my life': Rochelle, 8, hears dad in trouble as she gets a drink
An eight-year-old girl helped save her dad's life after hearing him gasping for breath in the middle of the night, while she was getting herself a glass of water.
Rochelle Ramsey from Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, has been hailed a hero by her father after hearing him struggling to breathe in the night.
The little girl had been getting a glass of water in the early hours of September 16, but after hearing her dad, Chris Ramsey, 38 gasping for air, she quickly woke up her mum, Sheryl Oribine, 37.
Oribine called an ambulance and Ramsey, who suffers with multiple sclerosis (MS), was rushed to the nearest hospital.
The condition means Ramsey is unable to walk and has a very weak immune system, so it could have been fatal for him if his daughter hadn't stepped in, particularly as it was later discovered he was suffering from septic shock and pneumonia.
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"Rochelle ran into the room and we realised Chris' teeth were chattering but his temperature was through the roof," Oribine, who is Ramsey's full-time carer, explains.
"I remember the paramedic telling me 'your partner needs to get to hospital right now'.
"They also said: 'If it wasn't for your daughter, he would have died'.
"Rochelle had the biggest smile on her face when I told her she saved her daddy's life."
Oribine says the night will forever be etched in her mind.
"If Rochelle hadn't stepped in, I would have woken up to find Chris dead in the bed," she explains.
"While other eight-year-olds might have brushed it off, she knew something was wrong - she's his guardian angel in disguise.
"Chris keeps saying 'I can't believe I'm still alive' and calls Rochelle his 'little hero' - which is exactly what she is."
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Ramsey developed MS in 2018, with his condition slowly deteriorating to the point where he needed to use an electric wheelchair.
His immune system has also grown worse and he would regularly end up in hospital after picking up infections.
Most recently, Ramsey had been treated for a chest infection and while the family hoped he was on the mend, when his daughter heard him gasping for breath over the sound of the tap running, she knew something was very wrong.
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After calling an ambulance, paramedics arrived at the house and suspected Ramsey was suffering from sepsis.
He was blue-lighted to Inverclyde Royal Hospital while COVID-19 measures meant his concerned fiancée and daughter had to wait at home.
Thankfully, doctors managed to stabilise Ramsey with an oxygen machine and medication, having discovered he had pneumonia as a result of his earlier chest infection.
The pneumonia - which had caused him to shiver intensely with his teeth chattering - had developed into sepsis and Ramsey had been suffering with septic shock.
Oribine recalls doctors explaining how close her partner had come to death when his oxygen levels plummeted and his heart rate rose dramatically after arriving at the high dependency ward.
They said if he hadn't got to hospital when he did, he would likely have passed away in his bed, which confirmed the family's belief that Rochelle had saved his life.
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"To hear how close he came to death was terrifying but I was so proud of our little girl in that moment," Oribine explains.
Having spent a further three days in hospital Ramsey has now being discharged to recover at home with a prescription of strong antibiotics and his daughter diligently attending to his every need.
"While he was in hospital, all Rochelle could do was ask when Daddy would be coming home," Oribine continues.
"I will forever be grateful for what Rochelle did - we are both so proud of her.
"Not many eight-year-olds can say they saved a parent's life."
Additional reporting SWNS.
