‘I thought you’d died, mummy’: How heroic four-year-old boy saved his mum’s life

A four-year-old boy saved his mum’s life after she tripped face-first and knocked herself out.

Marshall was alone with his mum, Jacqui Osborne, when she tripped and fell down an entire flight of stairs in December.

The 39-year-old was ‘bleeding everywhere’ and unconscious for around 15 minutes before waking up feeling ‘very upset and confused’.

But when she came round her son was holding a towel to the deep cut to the side of her head, and unlocked Jacqui’s phone to call his grandparents to help.

Jacqui told Metro.co.uk: ‘We were on our way out, when I suddenly went head first and knocked myself out for 15 minutes.

‘I wear glasses and they snapped and left a very nasty gash close to my eye. I was losing a lot of blood.

‘When I eventually woke up, Marshall was holding a towel to my head. He even said, “thank goodness mummy I thought you were dead”.’

Marshall, who had learnt first aid skills through Scouts, remained calm and ‘wasn’t as upset as a four-year-old would usually be’.

‘He got my phone and helped me unlock it because the blood was stopping me from typing. Once my parents arrived he was able to post them the keys through the letterbox,’ Jacqui said.

‘I didn’t register that Marshall potentially saved my life until I was on the hospital ward,’ Jacqui, from Leeds, said.

‘I dread to think what would have happened if he hadn’t been there, or he had gone to pieces.’

Jacqui, who works in the charity sector, was in hospital for two nights and needed a two hour operation.

‘I’ve got a visual scar, but I am incredibly lucky. It was very close to cutting my eye.

‘It is so important that he had learnt these skills though his ‘Squirrels’ group at Scouts.

‘He was presented with an Unsung Hero award for his bravery by Bear Grylls and I think it was probably the best day of his life.’

Dwayne Fields, Scout Ambassador said: ‘Now, two years after the launch of Squirrels across the UK, it makes me so proud to see the massive difference the Squirrels’ programme is making to children’s lives.’

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