Inspirational young girl who cares for poorly mother receives award from Northamptonshire paramedics

Caitlin Marr looks after her mum, Sarah, who suffers from a number of health problems including diabetes and recurring hypos. This means her blood sugars rapidly become too low to provide enough energy for her body’s activities.

Sarah will often start to feel unwell and this can lead to unconsciousness or even a seizure.

Caitlin is able to realise when her mum is likely to have a seizure and takes effective medical intervention to prevent this, sometimes up to several times a day.

The awar was made by East Midlands Ambulance Service.

Wendi Claydon, an EMAS paramedic in Northampton, said: “Caitlin is just an amazing little girl. For someone so young to remain so calm and composed in these situations and to take the necessary action required to relieve these symptoms is incredible.

“And of course, when she can intervene and resolve the situation, it keeps vital ambulance service resources free to attend other people in the community in life-threatening situations, such as cardiac arrests and heart attacks.

“We are so grateful for people like Caitlin and she is exactly the type of person we actually look for in the ambulance service. Everything she does is so selfless and that is why she deserves this award.”

During the times when paramedics have visited Sarah, they have always observed how helpful Caitlin is during an emergency and how mature and intelligent she is.

The ambulance service presented Caitlin with her award in front of her friends and teachers at Greenfields Primary School in Kettering.

While at the school, the paramedics also took the opportunity to undertake a special CPR session with the school children and teach them about when they should ring 999 for an ambulance.