# 5-Year-Old Hero Calls 911, Saves Mom



## Sasha (Aug 16, 2009)

*5-Year-Old Hero Calls 911, Saves Mom*
Full Article: http://www.parentdish.com/2009/08/1...09/08/13/5-year-old-hero-calls-911-saves-mom/


> While many five-year-olds are still perfecting skills like tying their shoelaces, Tahlique Garay was mastering a different skill: saving his mother's life.
> 
> When his pregnant mother collapsed onto the floor, the rising first grader stayed calm and called 911 -- what he had been taught to do if Jennifer Garay ever got sick.
> 
> ...


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## HotelCo (Aug 16, 2009)

Two phone numbers kids should learn as soon as they can: 911 in case something happens to them or someone else. And their parent's phone number, so EMS/PD can get in contact with their parents.


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## Sasha (Aug 16, 2009)

It sounded like it could possibly be eclampsia, with the seizures. So, here's a little reading on pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.

http://www.preeclampsia.org/about.Asp


> Preeclampsia is a disorder that occurs only during pregnancy and the postpartum period and affects both the mother and the unborn baby. Affecting at least 5-8% of all pregnancies, it is a rapidly progressive condition characterized by high blood pressure and the presence of protein in the urine. Swelling, sudden weight gain, headaches and changes in vision are important symptoms; however, some women with rapidly advancing disease report few symptoms.



http://www.referencecenter.com/ref/reference/eclampsi/eclampsia?invocationType=ar1clk&flv=1


> Only 5% of of women with pre-eclampsia progress to eclampsia, which is accompanied by convulsions and coma. To avoid renal and cardiovascular damage of the mother and to prevent fetal damage, the condition is treated by termination of pregnancy.



http://www.emedicinehealth.com/eclampsia/article_em.htm


> Eclampsia, a life-threatening complicatio of pregnancy, results when a pregnant woman previously diagnosed with preeclampsia (high blood pressure and protein in the urine) develops seizures or coma. In some cases, seizures or coma may be the first recognizable sign that a pregnant woman has preeclampsia.* Key warning signs of eclampsia in a woman diagnosed with preeclampsia may be severe headaches, blurred or double vision, or seeing spots. *Toxemia is a common name used to describe preeclampsia and eclampsia.


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## HotelCo (Aug 17, 2009)

Sasha said:


> It sounded like it could possibly be eclampsia, with the seizures. So, here's a little reading on pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.



It might have been, but she may have had a siezure disorder before the pregnancy as well. The article isn't that detailed about her history.


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## Melclin (Aug 17, 2009)

Does it bug anybody else how often the word hero is thrown around in the media these days?

I suppose you could debate forever about how the term should apply but it bugs me how it doesn't take much to get called a hero. 

A smart kid? Yeah maybe. Well instructed kid, even better? But a hero? What unusual and upstanding virtue did it require to call his mother an ambulance?


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## Sasha (Aug 17, 2009)

HotelCo said:


> It might have been, but she may have had a siezure disorder before the pregnancy as well. The article isn't that detailed about her history.



I didn't say it was, just that it was a possibility. And because of that, I felt it approrpiate to post some places to read about pre-eclampsia/eclampsia.



> A smart kid? Yeah maybe. Well instructed kid, even better? But a hero? What unusual and upstanding virtue did it require to call his mother an ambulance?



The kid is five and saved his mother's life by calling! Leave it be. He's a hero in my book, many kids wouldn't know what to do.


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## Mountain Res-Q (Aug 17, 2009)

Sasha said:


> The kid is five and saved his mother's life by calling! Leave it be. He's a hero in my book, many kids wouldn't know what to do.



I kinda agree with Melclin...  smart kid, cool under preasure, career in emergency services, maybe?  But when EMS "professionals" get all agravated when EMTs with "only 110 hours" of training get called Heros, despite the fact that they do play a role in saving lives, how can we rightly agree in calling a 5 year old that called 911 (after being trainined to do so), a hero?  We all act within the scope of our training and experience and therefore are not really doing anything extraordinary(it is what we do)... and all the kid did was act within the scope of his training...

CONSIDER:
EMT who "saves" someone using CPR and a AED:  Uneducated Moron?
Child that calls 911 like any monkey can do:  A Hero?

on the other hand...  since it is a kid, I would call him a hero to his face...  and a smart kid (with credit to his parents) anytime else...  IMHO.


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## Sasha (Aug 17, 2009)

Are you kidding? This is not some guy who went through 110 hours of training to sturt around like he is some extrodinary hero, this is a kid who'se mother had a seizure!

He had no training, he was told to call 911... but honestly, as a kid, would you have been able to stay calm?

I panic when my nephew hits his head, and I'm a 21 year old EMT. I couldn't imagine being five years old and have my pregnant mother on the floor.


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## Mountain Res-Q (Aug 17, 2009)

When I was 4, my mom (4-5 months pregnant with really bad knees) slipped on some water on the deck and hit the ground hard; severe leg pain and an inability to move at all...  I was scared crapless, but my mom convinced me to run around the corner (of our block) to my aunt and uncles house and get them (no one else was home with us).  To that point I had never been off the property without a parent/adult with me...  and fyi...  calling for help was out of the question.  I did it and my uncle got my mom to the local hospital...  luxated patella with some ligament tearing; nothing too serious in hindsight, but for a four year old, that was the scariest thing in the universe...

Hero for getting help?    All I did was do what I was told to do, despite my fear.  But if you want to call me a hero (I know it would gall you to do so )... maybe it was jut the first step in my "Super EMT career as a Professional Hero".  ^_^

For the record... 3-4 years latter I was already performing surgery on my brother...  honestly... who gets themselves stuck like this?...

http://www.emtlife.com/album.php?albumid=71&pictureid=388


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## DV_EMT (Aug 17, 2009)

kids that age probably dont understand what any other terms are... but when a kid thinks "hero" he thinks superhero... like superman or batman... 

so calling the kid a hero is just to get them excited!!

in my book any kid that is that smart/intelligent is a hero!


but anyone EMS/Fire/Police/docs/nurses/ even RRT/RX/and Lab.... theyre all heros... trying to help preserve life... thats what a true hero is!


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## Sasha (Aug 17, 2009)

Mountain Res-Q said:


> When I was 4, my mom (4-5 months pregnant with really bad knees) slipped on some water on the deck and hit the ground hard; severe leg pain and an inability to move at all...  I was scared crapless, but my mom convinced me to run around the corner (of our block) to my aunt and uncles house and get them (no one else was home with us).  To that point I had never been off the property without a parent/adult with me...  and fyi...  calling for help was out of the question.  I did it and my uncle got my mom to the local hospital...  luxated patella with some ligament tearing; nothing too serious in hindsight, but for a four year old, that was the scariest thing in the universe...
> 
> Hero for getting help?    All I did was do what I was told to do, despite my fear.  But if you want to call me a hero (I know it would gall you to do so )... maybe it was jut the first step in my "Super EMT career as a Professional Hero".  ^_^
> 
> ...



A key difference in that is your mother was awake and talking to you. His mother was unresponsive and the kid, left alone, call 911 all by himself.

But yes, you are a four year old little hero. I can't believe you want to take that away from him.


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## Mountain Res-Q (Aug 17, 2009)

Sasha said:


> But yes, you are a four year old little hero.



SASHA PAID ME A COMPLIMENT... kinda...

:beerchug::lol::beerchug::lol::beerchug:

I feel faint... Is there a Medic in the house?​


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## Sasha (Aug 17, 2009)

Mountain Res-Q said:


> SASHA PAID ME A COMPLIMENT...  :beerchug::lol::beerchug::lol::beerchug:



Only because you solicited it. I feel cheap and used.


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## Mountain Res-Q (Aug 17, 2009)

Sasha said:


> Only because you solicited it. I feel cheap and used.



he he he he...  My life is now complete!


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## Melclin (Aug 18, 2009)

Yeah its not a big deal or anything, I just have a problem in general with the way the word is thrown around alot. Over using it devalues the word, so if you want to really describe someone you truly feel is heroic, you have problems. Of course if I was sitting there with him I'd be all.."Aren't your a brave little hero" and so on.

Like I said, if you were ganna have this argument properly, you'd have to define hero and all that stuff. I don't really wanna get into it that much but I consider a hero to perform some sort of action involving personal sacrifice or the potential for personal sacrifice, that is not reasonably expected of all people, for the greater benefit of others. 

My point here is that this kid didn't sacrifice anything, he wasn't putting him self out in anyway. Aside from that, who wouldn't want to help his mother in that situation. I'm not having a go at him, I think he showed intelligence and clear mindedness unusual for his age and that's commendable in its own way, I just take issue with the adjective heroic. It's semantics; its not going to destroy the fabric of society, it just bugs me how the word hero is thrown around to label people who are really just doing their jobs (us for example) or doing something that, while very good, everyone would be happy to do in the same circumstance.


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