QUICK-thinking has made Rutherglen’s Tory Oats a hero to his family, after he helped his grandmother ward off a severe asthma attack.
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On Friday night, Tory, 8, a Rutherglen Primary student, noticed his grandmother, Margaret Lindupp, 82, was too weak to press down on her asthma puffer as she struggled to breathe and began to black out.
He sprung into action and pushed the inhaler into Mrs Lindupp’s mouth to give her the drug.
“He’s my little hero,” Mrs Lindupp said.
She said her husband, Keith, usually administered her Ventolin spray but he was outside when she began to suffer the attack.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done without him,” Mrs Lindupp said.
Tory said yesterday he had seen his grandfather administer the Ventolin spray and he knew straight away what he had to do.
“Nan couldn’t breathe or press down on the puffer,” Tory said.
“I put it in her mouth and pressed down a few times.
“She would’ve been on the floor if I didn’t do it.”
Mrs Lindupp said she had been coughing for three weeks leading up to Friday’s attack.
She called her doctor after the attack and went to Corowa Hospital on Saturday where she spent three days with what was believed to be a combination of asthma and pneumonia.
Mrs Lindupp said Tory helped his grandfather distribute newsletters for the local Neighbourhood Watch group.
“He’s an amazing and caring kid, always taking care of his nan and pop,” she said.
“Kids don’t get enough credit these days. It’s lovely to give the kids a little credit.
“Tory will often bring me breakfast with my special spoon and a cup of tea.”
Asthma Foundation NSW chief executive Michele Goldman said the response by Tory to his grandmother’s plight showed how important it was for the community to be able to recognise asthma symptoms and potentially save
someone’s life.
“This little boy’s courage and intelligence is great and we should all endeavour to act as he did,” Ms Goldman said.
The Asthma Foundation estimates more than two million Australians are asthmatics, including 600,000 in Victoria.