‘I died and my mum brought me back to life’: Libby Thomas saved her eight-year-old son Jacob Thomas

Libby’s eight-year-old son woke up complaining of itchy skin before he suddenly went into cardiac arrest. What happened next saved his life.

Eight-year-old Jacob Thomas told his mum he wouldn’t know what to do if she died.

His mum, Libby Thomas, replied saying she didn’t know what she would do if she lost him either.

The next morning Jacob collapsed and died for just over six minutes before his mum saved his life.

“I just kept replaying that conversation again in my mind the whole time,” Ms Thomas said.

“‘I can’t lose you Jacob, I can’t lose you Jacob’ that is what was going on in my mind.”

Jacob Thomas died for over six minutes and his mum Libby Thomas immediately began CPR and saved his life. Picture: Supplied

The night before Jacob’s heart stopped he told his mum he didn’t know what he would do without her. Picture: Supplied

On January 15 Jacob told his mum his eczema was flaring up and he needed cream before he fainted right in front of her.

“As he fell down he hit his head, but kind of got straight back up again,” the 34-year-old mum said.

“He said, ‘mum I don’t feel well’ and literally just fell back and collapsed.”

Jacob had a history of collapsing. Doctors told the Morphett Vale mum to record him when it happens, in case they are seizures.

“I managed to record for 10 seconds and then he wasn’t coming to like he normally does,” she said.

“I stopped recording and called triple-0 and that’s when he stopped breathing.”

Libby Thomas is calling on all parents to learn CPR. Picture: Supplied

Jacob was in a coma for 27 hours after he had gone into cardiac arrest. Picture: Supplied

Ms Thomas sprung into action and began CPR on her own child.

When the paramedics arrived Ms Thomas, who is a nurse, had to make the difficult decision to leave Jacob alone so she could open the door for them to come in.

“I knew CPR wasn’t going to be enough, I didn’t have a defibrillator and I knew they would,” she said.

Paramedics managed to revive him and rushed him to Flinders Hospital with Ms Thomas following in another ambulance behind them.

When she arrived Jacob had been brought into the resuscitation room, intubated and placed in an induced coma.

Ms Thomas was not allowed to be with him.

“Once they got him stable in the coma, that’s when they let me go and see him really quickly before they took him to ICU,” she said.

Jacob was in a coma for 27 hours.

Doctors are still working out why the eight-year-old went into cardiac arrest. Picture: Supplied

“He’s telling everyone that he died and his mum brought him back to life,” Ms Thomas said.

“He doesn’t quite fully understand. He knows something’s happened, that he died and got brought back to life.”

Jacob doesn’t remember the moments before his cardiac arrest.

“I’m so scared … if that happens again I don’t know what I’d be able to do,” Ms Thomas said.

Ms Thomas said knowing CPR was vital for Jacob and she implores all parents to learn the lifesaving skill.

Jacob may need to travel with his mum to Melbourne for heart surgery. Picture: Supplied

Now Jacob is attending the hospital, school and feeling a lot better. Doctors still don’t understand why he had a cardiac arrest and are continuing to undergo tests to discover the cause.

Discussions about Jacob potentially needing to travel to Melbourne for surgery are also occurring.

If you’d like to donate to Jacob you can here.

Originally published as ‘I died and my mum brought me back to life’: Libby Thomas saved her eight-year-old son Jacob Thomas