11-year-old saves mom's life with CPR learned from TikTok

11-year-old saves mom's life with CPR learned from TikTok

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, 11-year-old Sophia Pilderian faced a terrifying situation when her mother, Tiffany, went into sudden cardiac arrest at their Providence home.

Alone with her mom, Sophia’s quick instincts and knowledge from TikTok, helped her save her mother’s life.

“My body was just telling me not to go to sleep,” Sophia said. “Something told me, like, I shouldn’t be asleep right now.”

It was 3:30 a.m. when Sophia noticed Tiffany acting strangely.

“She was acting weird, walking around, quiet. She was a little droopy. I could tell she was off,” Sophia said.

Soon, things escalated.

“She rolled on her back and started leaning back. And she started making like a weird noise,” Sophia recalled.

When Tiffany collapsed, Sophia called 911, despite her mother's protest.

“The 911 person said to lean her back, lift her head up, and I got a towel because she was bubbling from the mouth,” Sophia said. “Then they said to do CPR, so I started to do chest compressions.”

Sophia’s better-than-average CPR skills came from an unusual teacher.

“I learned it honestly from TikTok,” she said. Sophia said her muscle memory kicked in from a video she recently watched.

For five long minutes, Sophia performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Her older sister, Malia Quirindongo, said those moments were critical.

“Once she told me she heard ribs cracking, I was like, ‘Oh, you’re good. You got to the heart. That’s all that matters,’” Malia said.

Thanks to Sophia’s quick thinking, Tiffany was rushed to the hospital alive.

“She has a long recovery, but she wouldn’t have anything to recover if she didn’t live,” Malia said.

Sophia, a fifth grader, is being hailed as a hero.

“I think I’m like a real-life superhero, honestly,” she said.

Her family agrees.

“We’ve been making it a big deal because we mean it when we say my mom would be dead if it was not for Sophie,” Malia said. “She did her big one.”

Tiffany, 44, remains in the hospital, but is improving daily.

“She’s walking, talking, and even joking,” Malia said.