Grandma Passes Out Behind Wheel of Car. 7-Year-Old Takes Action
The world has no shortage of heroes. Every day one turns on the news, reads the paper or logs onto the internet to learn of even more daring do.
The most impressive of these heroes are those children who, faced with an incredible situation, respond with foresight, intelligence and compassion.
It’s the sort of thing we all wished we were as kids and are secretly grateful we never had to make that choice.
Kenzie Smith, 7, is added to our list of heroes and I am glad she had the strength that she did. Her grandmother, Donna Bryan, was giving Kenzie a ride when, suddenly, she started feeling out of breath.
Bryan quickly pulled the car over to the shoulder of the road and passed out. Kenzie, in full hero mode, did the smart thing. She jumped on her grandmother’s cell phone and called 911.
“I tried to ask her if she wanted me to call 911, but she didn’t answer right after that. Cause I don’t know what happened but I think she fainted and she was turning grey and I was really nervous,” Kenzie said.
“Hello. My grandma can’t breathe,” she told the dispatcher. Kenzie, who is in the second grade, was able to tell them where they were located and first responders were able to quickly assist.
“Kenzie, they’re gonna help you. You did a really good job, OK?” the dispatcher told Kenzie. Kenzie did such a good job that her school, the second grade class of First Evangelical Lutheran in La Crosse, Wisconsin, honored her with the local fire department and awarded her a certificate and sparkly crown for acting heroically in a crisis situation.
“She was able to stay calm. Fortunately we were able to take care of grandma, but I think that just her quick thinking to call 911 and to get us on our way quickly is what really made the difference of life or death for her grandma,” said the La Crosse Fire Department Captain, Tim Knudsen.
Kenzie, for her part, is uncomfortable being the center of so much praise. “Everybody did their part for the emergency,” she said.
Her grandmother won’t hear any of this nonsense and insists that Kenzie is the hero.
“I think I was more upset and nervous and everything than she was,” Bryan said. “It’s true isn’t it?” Bryan said. “We always need one another. I needed you and they needed them and they all needed a hospital so we all worked together.”
Bryan has recovered after a five-day hospital stay. Doctors had believed that Bryan would be in a vegetative state. Kenzie would not hear it: “Kenzie stepped up and said, ‘Well, this is my favorite grandma, and you have to fix her up,’” Bryan reported.
Kenzie says she wants to be a doctor when she grows up so she can help save lives like her grandmother’s. That, or a princess like Miss La Crosse, whom she got to meet.
Kenzie’s class has learned life-saving techniques thanks to the Mayo Clinic Health System and the local fire department.
I hope all parents and teachers reading this will do the same with their children and classes.
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