Man saves toddler's life in Abu Dhabi mall after she stops breathing

Parents Barry and Brigid Casey want to raise awareness of first aid techniques, after their 18-month-old collapsed

(L-R) Thomas Gieles, Brigid Casey, and her daughter Abigail. Thomas saved Abigail's life when she stopped breathing in an Abu Dhabi mall. All pictures by Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Abigail Casey is now feeling much better, and no longer has a fever.

(L-R) Thomas Gieles, Brigid and Barry Casey, and their toddler Abigail recall the moment when Mr Gieles saved Abigail's life.

Fortunately Thomas Gieles (L) knew first aid, and spotted that Abigail needed oxygen to be blown into her lungs to save her life.

Brigid and Barry Casey are relieved to have their precious daughter Abigail feeling back to normal.

(L-R) Thomas Gieles, Brigid and Barry Casey, and their toddler Abigail. They are keen to highlight the importance of first aid training.

The parents of a toddler who nearly died from lack of oxygen after suffering a seizure have thanked the 'hero' passer-by who saved her life.

Barry, 41, and Brigid Casey, 36, were shopping in Yas Mall last Saturday with their 18-month-old daughter Abigail.

At first it looked like she was having a classic toddler tantrum, and she threw her head back. Then her body tensed, and she started to convulse in a sudden seizure. After a few minutes, she became limp and unresponsive.

"We just panicked. It was chaos. I was calling for help, and people were gathering, but no one knew what to do," said Mr Casey.

"It went on for so long. We were slapping her on the back, turning her on her side, trying to do everything we could to wake her up.

"She stopped breathing and went blue, and then white. I thought she was gone."

Two strangers approached the family, and said they knew first aid. One was Irish, and did not give his name, and the other was Thomas Gieles, 48, from Holland.

"Some people thought that she was choking. So they were patting her on the back and handing her around, and I was really worried that it would be too late, because she had turned blue from the CO2 build-up," said Mr Gieles, who works in the oil and gas industry in Abu Dhabi.

"When I finally got my hands on her, she was limp, she was gone.

"I knew the first thing I needed to do was to get oxygen into her lungs, so I breathed through her nose.

"The weird thing is that the same thing happened to my daughter when she was about the same age, and I had a flashback of that incident."

Brought back to life

Abigail quickly revived, thanks to the efforts of Mr Gieles and the Irish passer-by, who was massaging her heart.

"The blue colour disappeared a little bit, and at some point, she opened her eyes, and it was at that moment I knew everything was going to be okay," said Mr Gieles.

"She also started crying, which was also good because it means that she was getting lots of air into her lungs. So that gave me a very positive feeling."

Shortly afterwards, the ambulance arrived and took Abigail and her parents to hospital, but Mr Casey managed to get Mr Gieles' phone number before they left, and they stayed in touch.

Despite appearing in good health, Abigail had quickly come down with a high temperature from a virus. Her doctor said this caused her to have a fit, which then caused her to stop breathing.

Had Mr Gieles not known basic first aid from a work-based course, it is likely she would have died.

"If we'd rolled her onto her side straight away that would have opened her throat, and she never would have stopped breathing," said Mr Casey.

"It was a surreal experience. The horror was indescribable. The overriding feeling was that - this can't be happening, it cannot be real.

"Her body was just lying there, she'd stopped breathing, she was gone."

Now Mr and Mrs Casey are urging every parent to learn the basics, so they never have to go through the same experience.

"It was a wake-up call for us. We are 100 per cent going to do a course. First aid can be a life-saving skill, and hopefully you don't have to use it, but if the scenario occurs then you can help, and make a difference in that moment in time.

"It was a wafer-thin moment - there's nothing in it. A straightforward course can be the difference between life and death."

Life-saving skills

First aid experts recommend all parents and childcare workers, and 10 per cent of every company, should learn basic live-saving skills.

"It is very important to learn first aid because accidents and emergencies can happen any time and anywhere," said Rhegel Ramos Aliling, 32, the training centre manager for Perfect Health, which runs first aid courses in the UAE.

"If the victim is a baby and needs CPR, then your mouth should cover the nose and mouth together. If the child is over one year, then you need to pinch the nose and then breathe mouth to mouth, so the air will go directly to the lungs."

It takes only six hours to learn all the basic paediatric first aid skills for children of every age.

Abigail quickly recovered from the incident, and this week The National organised for Mr Gieles to meet the family again at their home.

"It was brilliant to see him again, and to express our gratitude," said Mr Casey.

"I mean what a guy. A stranger you don't know doing something so extraordinary, it gives you faith in humanity. He's a hero to us."

Mr Gieles said the meeting made him realise, retrospectively, the gravity of the situation.

"I had tunnel vision at the time, but now as I start to process it, I realise I had a lot of responsibility in my hands. This was somebody else's child," said Mr Gieles.

"I even get emotional now thinking about it. I'm just really happy for the parents, and I just want to increase some awareness about first aid.

"My wife told me I was a hero, and I actually felt a little bit ashamed. I just acted. I think anybody would have done the same thing."