A brave young girl who saved a 13-year-old boy’s life claimed ‘it was nothing’ when she told her mum.
Lucie Orton, 15, was out cycling when she saw friend Liam Smith fly over his handlebars and smash his face into the concrete ground.
But instead of panicking as Liam lost consciousness, Lucie managed to stop him from swallowing his tongue and keep him awake until an ambulance arrived.
Liam lost a chunk of his tongue and suffered a broken nose but he and his family believe it could have been a lot worse if it weren’t for Lucie.
Lucie, from Tamworth, Staffs, said: “When I saw Liam go over his handlebars I knew it was bad.
“I ran over and started shaking him. There was blood everywhere and I pulled his tongue from his mouth to stop him swallowing it.
“The paramedics told me he was very lucky because he could have broken his neck.”
Lucie who attends Landau Forte Academy in Amington, came to school friend Liam’s rescue after he came off his BMX.
Liam was doing jumps on his bike at the track when his tyre got jammed, flinging him over the handlebars.
The Year 9 pupil smashed his face on the concrete and passed out.
Lucie, who was at the bike track with her friends, said: “It was terrible. I was at the park with my friends watching a few of the lads on their bikes.
“My other friends didn’t know what to do but I kept saying to Liam: ‘Blink if you can hear me talking. Can you hear me, Liam?’
“He nodded his head and I tried to keep him awake and conscious.
“I called an ambulance and I stayed with him for five or 10 minutes until it came.”
Modest Lucie was called a hero by West Midlands Ambulance paramedics, who took Liam to Birmingham Children’s Hospital after the incident on May 7.
But when she got home, her mum Sharon said she glossed over how much she had done to save him.
Housewife Sharon, 37, said: “We didn’t know anything about it until the school got in touch much later.
“Lucie really played it down and she just said ‘it was nothing’.
“She’s just a really calm person and things don’t faze her.”
Liam suffered a broken nose, had a chunk from his tongue missing and was taken for X-rays on both of his eye sockets.
His lips were also left damaged due to the cuts sustained from his fall.
The youngster, who suffered short-term memory loss following the accident, is now on the mend and said: “Lucie saved my life. I can’t thank her enough.
“Doctors said I was lucky because I could have fractured my skull or I could’ve broken my neck.
“I was unconscious but Lucie came over to save me. I can’t believe what she did.”
And Lucie also managed to reassure Liam’s dad while he was trying to find out what had happened to his son.
Liam’s dad, Neil Smith said: “On the night of the accident I rang Liam’s phone to find out what was going on, Lucie answered the phone and was talking me through what was going on.
“Her voice was so calm and didn’t sound panicked at all, it wasn’t until nearly a week later that it come out how it really happened that I linked Lucie to the call.
“This was the same 15-year-old girl that had just gone through having to save her friend’s life and she managed to stay calm while telling me what was happening while trying not to panic Liam at the same time.
“Lucie deserves all the praise she gets – she truly is an amazingly selfless person.”
And the praise for young Lucie doesn’t stop there. Her headteacher, James Robson, said: “We’re immensely proud of Lucie.
“She acted instinctively and way beyond her years. It gives me great pride that we have such caring students here at Landau.
“For Lucie to rush over to Liam’s aid and act the way she did is, quite frankly, remarkable. She’s a hero, all right.”
Liam’s mum, Mandy Smith, added: “We can’t thank Lucie enough. We are so, so grateful.”
Culled from Caters News Agency
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