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What’s the opposite of SWATting? How about just “saving someone’s life.” That’s what a Texas player did for her online teammate, an ocean away in the United Kingdom.
The BBC and Sky News both reported this weekend on the fast thinking of Dia Lathora, 21, of Texas, who suspected her gaming partner, 17-year-old Aidan Jackson, might be having a medical emergency. In fact he was; reports say it was a seizure. Lathora managed to phone public safety in Widnes, in the northwestern English county of Cheshire, and get them to Jackson’s home.
Jackson’s parents were downstairs, unaware their son was having a seizure (his bedroom door was closed). How was Lathora aware? The teen told Sky News that he’d “felt a little funny” and got up, turning his chat microphone toward his bed so he could continue talking as he lay down. When he was unresponsive, Lathora knew something was wrong.
In the audio of her call she clearly explains the situation, while apologizing for being shaken. Significantly, she had Jackson’s address, but no other contact information, and had to quickly find a non-emergency number to call in the matter. Police and an ambulance quickly arrived to Jackson’s home, and after quickly telling Jackson’s mother what was going on, all went upstairs and found Jackson having a seizure.
“Next thing I knew, I was waking up with police and my parents in my room, saying that I’d just had a seizure,” Jackson told Sky.
Jackson’s mother, Caroline, said when she answered the door, police said they’d been told there was an unresponsive male at the address. Aidan had a seizure in May 2019, so it did not take long to put two and two together, even if the police were saying the emergency call had come from the United States.
Jackson was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and went home that afternoon after having several tests. Fast action and immediate attention is necessary in the case of any seizure; always better to be safe than sorry, and the new policy in the Jackson household is that Aidan will be gaming with his bedroom door open.
The BBC says the Jacksons have been in touch with Lathora and expressed their thanks. “We can’t thank Dia and the emergency services enough for what they did, considering the 4,750 miles between Dia and Aidan,” Caroline Jackson told the Liverpool Echo, which has more detail in its report from Friday.
