Giaan Rooney: "Last night was the most terrifying moment of my life."

Former Olympic swimmer Giaan Rooney has described the “terrifying” moment her 11-month-old daughter Lexi stopped breathing on Tuesday night.

In a raw Instagram post, the mum-of-two said it was thanks to the quick actions of her and her husband Sam Levett that her daughter survived.

“Last night was the most terrifying moment of my life,” she wrote.

“Our 11-month-old, Lexi, had a seizure, stopped breathing and turned blue.”

A post shared by Giaan Rooney (@giaan.rooney) on May 22, 2018 at 6:52pm PDT

Thankfully, both Giaan and her husband had taken a course in infant CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) when her son Zander, now four, was born.

The 35-year-old said “despite the panic” everything they’d learned during the course “kicked back in”.

“My amazing husband gave Lexi CPR as I called an ambulance and talked to the operator,” Giaan explained.

Posting Wednesday afternoon, the media personality said that the family were still in hospital and awaiting test results – doctors believe a virus dramatically raising her temperature caused the seizure – but that their little girl was “out of danger”.

After this simple first aid skill saved their daughter’s life, Giaan implored other parents to learn or re-learn CPR.

“Please, if you have children or are around kids often, brush up on your CPR skills, hoping you never need it, but prepared if you do.”

It’s a necessary reminder given that less than one in three parents could confidently perform CPR on a child if required, according to St John’s Ambulance.

Adults can undertake CPR and children’s first aid courses through St John’s Ambulance or the Australian Red Cross as well as other providers. The theory component – which is not a substitute for the practical course – is even available online through NSW’s Westmead hospital.