14-Year-Old Girl Saved Her Mom Who Lost Consciousness Behind the Wheel After Basketball Practice

Katie Harris/Facebook

Katie Harris has always called her daughter her angel baby. On November 12, 2024, Darby, 14, lived up to that moniker when she saved her mom’s life. That day in Owensboro, Kentucky, Katie was driving her daughter home after basketball practice when she started feeling ill.

“I don’t remember chest tightness but I remember blacking out and I said to Darby, ‘Darby, there’s something seriously wrong,'” Katie recalled. Initially, the girl, who knows her mom has low iron levels, didn’t think it was that serious.

'Yeah, she's not right,' Darby said of her mother's condition.

“I wasn’t thinking much of it, but then she said it, like, three times. I was like, ‘Yeah, she’s not right,'” Darby told Good Morning America. By the time the teen came to that realization, her mother had lost consciousness.

Leaping into action, Darby was able to guide the car to the side of the road. When they were out of the street, Katie regained consciousness and put the car in park.

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Katie said she didn't have enough strength to use her phone to call for help.

Katie, a mom of four, said she doesn’t know what would have happened if her daughter had not been there that day. “I think that if Darby was not there – I didn’t have the physical strength to pick up the phone and call 9-1-1,” she explained. I was seconds away from my heart stopping.“

An ambulance took the mother to the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital. Doctors diagnosed her with ventricular tachycardia, or VT, an irregular heart rhythm that causes the heart to beat too fast, according to Good Morning America.

Doctors implanted a cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD. The device sends an electric pulse to the heart to prevent or to restore a regular heart rate. Katie remained in the hospital for a week, receiving treatment.

After the ordeal, the mom is grateful.

Katie, who owns a home and business cleaning business, has had to take time off of work to recover. She will undergo cardiac rehab to restore her heart rate to a normal rhythm.

Even though she’s had to slow down a little bit, Katie is thankful for her daughter and their family. “I’m so grateful because she was able to keep me here longer, so I can keep being a part of their life,” Katie said of Darby, adding of her and her siblings, “They’re my everything. They’re what I wake up for. I’m so grateful.”

The family hopes to encourage parents to teach their children what to do during an emergency.

Katie hopes that by sharing their story, she and Darby are able to inspire other families to have conversations with their children about what to do in an emergency. “[Darby] knew exactly what to do in that situation, and I would encourage parents to really, really talk about things like that and stay strong in your faith,” she told Good Morning America. “Those are the two main things that kept me alive.”