MEGA
A five-year-old girl named Poppy Davies displayed remarkable courage when she walked to school in a princess dress and wellies to tell her teacher, “Mummy’s on the floor and I can’t wake her up.”
Poppy had found her mother, Leisha Davies, 35, unconscious in their home in Pontllanfraith, Blackwood after Leisha had collapsed the previous night. Poppy stayed by her mother’s side throughout the night, while her father Andrew was working the night shift, before seeking help from her teachers at her primary school.
Just weeks before, Leisha had undergone surgery for a twisted bowel and had been feeling unwell after returning to work. She later discovered she had suffered septic shock. The last thing the mental health worker remembered was seeing Poppy dancing in her princess dress before losing consciousness.
Leisha emotionally recounted the incident, saying, “My daughter spent the whole night with me; she didn’t know what to do. On the morning of the 19th, she was in her princess dress, put her wellies on, and her little crown. She unlocked my front door and walked to the school gate right by my house. She walked into the schoolroom and disclosed to the teacher, ‘Mummy’s on the floor and I can’t wake her up.’”
Poppy’s teachers immediately rushed to her home and found Leisha on the floor. They placed her in the recovery position, called an ambulance, and Poppy was taken back to school while paramedics fought to save her mother’s life, reports Wales Online.
Leisha was transported to Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, where she was diagnosed with septic shock, and only 15% of her lung function remained. She was placed in an induced coma and suffered two cardiac arrests. She was later transferred to Bristol Royal Infirmary for ECMO treatment, a life support machine that mimics lung and heart function.
Leisha shared her experience of waking up, “When I woke up (three weeks later), I couldn’t move my body and I’d had a tracheostomy so I couldn’t speak. My mother was stroking my hair and said, ‘Are you alright?’ I nodded and they knew then I was back. They didn’t know for three weeks whether I was brain damaged.”
Although initially fearing she would need both legs amputated at the knee, Leisha now faces having half of each foot removed due to necrosis. She expressed immense gratitude to Poppy for saving her life and to the staff at the Grange for their care.
“I was incredibly proud of her. When she did come and see me, I absolutely broke down. I thought to myself she looks so grown up and I felt like I had missed out on so much. But I was thankful I was here, that my daughter had a mum and my mum had a daughter. It was really emotional.”
Leisha added, “I always say to (Poppy), ‘You’re my hero, you saved mummy’s life.’ She liked it when I said that and the nurses bought her a cape which was lovely. The staff at the Grange were absolutely phenomenal, I couldn’t fault anyone.”
She also emphasized the importance of seeking medical help if feeling unwell, stating, “I never thought Sepsis was bad, I thought it was just an infection, but septic shock is life-threatening and a lot of people don’t recover from it.”
