Girl, 5, helped save mom after collapse
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

ERIC SUCAR staff Mercedeh Sampson at home in East Brunswick with her children, Sophia and Josef. Sophia, 5, got her mom help after Mercedeh collapsed last month.

EAST BRUNSWICK - The actions of a quick-thinking 5-year-old girl led to her mother's rescue and the discovery of a dangerous underlying health problem.

Sophia Sampsonwas able to help save her mother, Mercedeh, 35, a seemingly healthy mother of two and a teacher at East Brunswick High School, one November day when Mercedeh walked into her daughter's roomand collapsed.

Seeing that her mother was unable to move or speak, Sophia went and got her grandmother, who also lives at the family's township home. They tried tomoveMercedeh, and then called a friend, who told Sophia to dial 911. Mercedeh's mother, who has Alzheimer's disease, was unable to call for help. Sophia had learned to dial for help and take emergency steps at school in East Brunswick.

Sophia called 911 and gave her address so that emergency personnel could respond, which they did "in a flash," the family recalled.

"I was hysterical, I could notmove,"Mercedeh said.

Mercedeh was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, where she was given numerous tests. Even after being taken to the hospital, she still was not able to move for number of hours, she said.

Doctors originally tested her for a brain problem, but all results came back negative. When doctors learned of the history of coronary heart disease in her family, they began to test for a heart ailment, and it was then that they learned the cause of her spell.

Mercedeh, doctors would discover, had two conditions that caused her collapse - neurocardiogenic syncope, which usually is not considered serious, and coronary heart disease, which is.

Mercedeh, who had previously suffered no symptoms of either problem, now wants to spreadthewordonhowcoronaryheartdisease can be a silent killer, especially forwomen.

She said that battling the syncope is amatter of exercise, diet and other steps. Themost serious part of syncope is that it could cause people to pass out and hit their head, she said. Passing out is actually the body's defense mechanismto get the blood flowing again.

Fighting coronary heart disease is tougher, and requires a lifestyle change to reduce the stress that contributes to the condition. Stress is considered the number one cause of the ailment.

Doctors toldMercedeh that the disease already caused some damage to her heart, but that she was lucky she had the spell; otherwise, the condition may have gone undiagnosed and caused greater damage. Coronary heart disease is particularly insidious because it can be unnoticeable. Mercedeh said she does not have high cholesterol, and at 5 feet 6 inches and 120 pounds, is not overweight.

But doctors informed Mercedeh that stress causes cortisol to be released, which can lead to an artery becoming clogged.

Aside fromstress, smoking can also play a major role. Mercedeh smoked when she was younger, but not heavily.

She said the stress of holding a full-time job and being a singlemother raising two children, as well as caring for her mother, contributed to the heart ailment. She noted that she is also a perfectionist.

Now she has been told to use yoga and other forms of exercise to combat the stress. She was also told to take baby aspirin each day to thin her blood.

Mercedeh returned toworkDec. 5, exactly onemonth after the incident.

In addition to changing her own life, she now also wants to help change others' lives. She urged stressed-out women not to be afraid to ask for help fromothers, noting that her neighbor helps her, as does her ex-husband.

"I am a giver, I love people," Mercedeh said. "But I need to learn it's also good to ask for help at a time of weakness."

Mercedeh,who is a runner, said she plans to take part in the next New York City Marathon as a way of raising money for women with heart disease.

Sophia, she said,was "very scared at first," and itwas toughforher children, includingher son Josef, to see her at the hospital. However, as Josef told his little sister, she is a "hero" for knowing how handle the 911 call andmaking sure responders came to the house.

Mercedehwill never forget the potentially life-saving role her young daughter played.

"I'mthe luckiest person alive," she said.