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Subscribe to RSSFrankie, a first-grader from New Jersey, is credited with saving his mother's life by placing a 911 call after she went into respiratory arrest from a severe asthma attack. WCAU-TV's Cydney Long reports.
It's been a busy month for Frankie Ford Jr.
The Commercial Township, N.J., first-grader is credited with saving his mother's life after she went into respiratory arrest from a severe asthma attack on Jan. 19, reported NBCPhiladelphia.com. Since then, Frankie has received a hero's plaque from the local 911 dispatch unit, a brand new bike, and some time in the media spotlight. But the best gift has been his mom's health.
"He's my little hero," Debbie Ford, who has fully recovered since the incident, told NBCPhiladelphia.com on Monday. "I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for him."
It was 7:15 a.m. on that school morning in January when Frankie, the oldest of three boys, noticed something was wrong with his mom. His father had already left for work, NBCPhiladelphia.com reported, so Frankie picked up the phone and called 911.
"Please... my mom's dying," Frankie cried.
The 911 operator was able to hear Ford in the background, gurgling. She asked Frankie how old he was.
"I'm six years old," a panicked Frankie is heard saying.
At one point, he offered to do chest compressions.
"I got pump for you?" Frankie is heard asking on the 911 call. “My mom, for you? My mom -- my hands on her heart.”
"OK, can you feel anything?" the operator asked him.
As Frankie continued to talk with the 911 dispatcher, Ford was able to mumble the family's address as she gasped for air. Frankie stayed on the line as emergency crews rushed to their home, NBCPhiladelphia.com reported.
"I was feeling pretty scared and sad," Frankie said on Monday. He said he told the 911 operator, "My mom can't breathe and I need your help."
Just in time
When EMTs arrived, they found Ford in her bed. She had a pulse, but wasn't breathing, said NBCPhiladelphia.com.
“I was terrified,” Laurel Lake Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company EMT Veronica Trio said. “I was really afraid that she was not going to make it. A couple more minutes and she would have gone into cardiac arrest.”
Ford was rushed to South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Center in Vineland, N.J., and put on a ventilator, reported TheDailyJournal.com. About a week later, she was discharged, and Trio, the EMT, reached out to the family to see how Ford was doing - and to tell them that the Laurel Lake Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company wanted to honor Frankie.
Last Monday, the Fords watched as Frankie received a wooden plaque from the fire company, an award acknowledging his "courage and quick thinking in calling 911, saving his mother's life," reported TheDailyJournal.com.
Robert Curry, a member of the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, told TheDailyJournal.com that Frankie might not appreciate the plaque until he was older -- and suggested they present him with another award: A blue BMX mongoose bike. The crew wheeled it out for him and Frankie jumped on the seat, reported TheDailyJournal.com.
Frankie doesn't talk about the rescue, but according to TheDailyJournal.com, wrote this in a thank you note to the EMTs: “Dear Ambulance People, Thank you for saving my mom. When I grow up and get big, I want to be a ambulance person too.”
A call to the EMTs from msnbc.com was not returned.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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A blessed story with a great ending! Its all that matters--stop the negative and cynical twists of "whats" or "if''s" !!!
A nine one one operator is trained to keep the caller on the line for many of the above reasons but also to instruct them to unlock the door for the Emergency Crews, or continue to get information about responses the victim is showing. Then she tells the EMT's as they approach destination every bit of knowledge that she has gleaned. When time is of the essense everything can be helpful. I trained to be a 911 operator for the Pleasanton Police Dept in California. Even the test, knowing it was not real, is hair raising.
The word Hero is so overused these days. He did what any family member would have done. We taught our kids to call 911 in an emergency too.
Has society fallen so far that doing the right and usual thing is now considered hero action?
economykiller, you're quite the buzz killer today, aren't you? Why can't a little 6-year old boy be called a hero and be proud of it? Sure it's good to teach your children the right thing to do - it's another thing altogether to have them act and react on what they've been taught. Many, I'm afraid, might have hid under the bed crying. Frankie is a hero, whether you like it or not.
economy...doing the right thing AND doing it under the great stress this little boy did is heroic. He is a 6 year old that understood the danger Mom was in and acted on it, even though he was scared...that's a hero.
lawful1 & sparklystar: Well said. This little boy certainly is a hero!
Good for the little boy, he did a great job. A child that age can tend to panic or not know what to do, so it is good that he was smart enough or taught to call 911.
It is a good thing that his mother was still able to get the address out to the EMT. If she had not been able to, there might have been a not so happy ending to this story. When my son was young and we were teaching him about calling 911, we wrote our address on a piece of paper and went over it repeatedly with him, to make sure he could read it. We then taped that paper near the phone, and showed him where it was. It is something that only takes a few minutes, but can make a huge difference, especially if you live in an area where the 911 office does not have the technology that gives them your address when the call comes in.
Way to go Frankie!!! You are awesome....... so glad your mommy is doing okay now. Mom & Dad, thanks for being responsible & teaching your children what to do in case of emergencies. God Bless all of you!
Kudos to Frankie!!! You are a true hero!!! Blessings to this family!!
This instills the importance of teaching our children 911 and their address. Good job little man, you were very brave. Your mom must be VERY proud of you.
I teach cpr at a high school and the kids love it! No matter how old you are its good to know the compressions, Any one can today can save a life with just a little knowledge. All schools should start doing some little thing in their schools. What a lucky Mom!
omg, reading this made me choke up. awesome kid
I'm very happy for the child and his mother. Situations like this happen every day a hundred times over in every major city, and it's rare that for once it turns out alright, and so this is a good ending to a story that usually isn't. Congratulations to their family for the victory against odds!
In other news, I'm a bit upset by the fact that MSNBC only turns on commenting when it suits them politically. Story about fraud or politics? About the stupidity in some of our fellow human beings? Commenting turned off. Story about heroism and valor? Commenting turned on.
What a cool kid! Think of all the pressure he was under and how well he acted considering. But, I wonder how many kids cannot remain somewhat calm under this kind of pressure. I recently saw something called a FotoDialer that could hopefully make a story about how a small child called 911 under pressure a thing of the past. They just push a button next to the photo of who they want to call; like their grandparent or emergency numbers like 911. Just a thought. Good for this kid for saving his mom's life!
Wow... what a terrifying experience for both Frankie and his mom... I'm happy little Frankie sprung into action and saved his mom's life. He stood up, fought and won....With all the hate going on in the world, I'm happy to finally see an action story of love, compassion and loyalty. Gives me hope for the future.
Six years old and knows to call 911 in an emergency! Bravo for teaching any child this. Pity Casey Anthony did not know about 911.
This is the sweetest thing I have read in a long time. That little guy RULES!!!
Dayang Dispatchers: Sure, the story had a happy outcome, but never mind that, I'd like to know why the dumb dispatcher wasted precious time asking Frankie's age? If he's old enough to call and give a brief summary of the problem, he's old enough to take simple directions. Every single time I hear an actual 911 call, the dispatcher wastes time asking dumb questions.
I see this all the time on Forensic Files and other shows where they have the actual call played out. Dispatchers speak way too slow, ask irrelevant questions, and thus cause delay in getting help out. The FIRST thing a dispatcher should ask is a verification of home address, since what shows up on their screen may not be accurate (as has been the case before), or the caller could be calling from a cell phone.
The tiny percentage of scam 911 calls are no excuse for dispatchers behaving so cluelessly.
You need to know the operations and why the protocols are in place before throwing ridiculous, ‘I see it on TV all the time’ statements out. A 911 operator doesn’t just ask questions randomly. Many times they have the address and are asking other questions to keep the person on the line calm. Talking slowly and asking things like a child’s age are a few quick ways to reduce the stress level on the phone and get the person to concentrate on what needs to be done next. 911 dispatchers are immediately contacting emergency services before they have any other details. Just because you are not hearing them say certain things does not mean it is not occurring. This is mostly an automated and electronic dispatching process, so the speaking is 40% assessment of the situation and providing any amount of potential assistance to the victim and 60% talking to keep them on the line, reducing the anxiety in the situation and keeping the person focused.
Believe me, I have played out in my mind dozens of times how I'd make a 911 call (both parents are elderly and have had issues), and take my word for it, the drawl of the typical dispatcher would NOT calm me; it would infuriate me because I'd get the impression that she's taking her sweet ol' time. What would reassure me is if she IMMEDIATELY says, "Okay, I just dispatched the ambulance; they are on the way to your house." THEN she can ask all the questions she wants and talk in slow motion.
If a dispatcher wants to calm and reassure the caller, the FIRST thing out of her mouth should be: What is your address? Then the next thing should be, "An ambulance is on the way as we speak." This assumes that the caller isn't some nutjob complaining that there's a lot of thunder and lightning or some other dumb 911 call (e.g., recently, McDonald's fries too hot)
airrika: I can understand that. Of course, what is described in the article isn't an actual transcript of the call. It could have very well been more similar to what you are describing that just some 911 dispatcher randomly saying things to the child.
airrika, playing it out in your mind and actually going through it are TWO different things. Having been in a position of needing to use 911 when someone was trying to break into my house at 2 in the morning, I appreciated the calmness of the dispatcher. And I was immediately assured that help was on the way. You are assuming that Frankie was not told help was on the way and making judgements based on that assumption. Just because it is not in the article does not mean it didn't happen.
I turned my post to generalities, not necessarily what I interpreted from the Frankie article. The Frankie article brought to mind all the transcripts I've heard on real life crime investigation shows. If I was on the phone with 911, the first thing I want to hear is, "What is your address," or a description of my address for verification. The next thing I want to hear is, "I just dispatched an ambulance/police to your home." After that, the dispatcher can whistle Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for all I care; my reassurance is knowing that help is on the way.
If I can receive medical instruction from 911, that will help and I'd stay on the phone for that, though I don't anticpate ever having to deliver someone's baby.
He's going to go on a school killing spree when he's 16 to try to get on the news again.
you need to go some where else to say that about him your an ass to say that you dont know what hes going to be like at 16 maybe he graduates highschool by then and goes on to save your life some day you idiot you are OBVIOUSLY YOUR FULL OF BS
Damn republicans...its all there fault
Very smart boy; but why did the mother have to give her address? Unless they used a cell phone. Landline addresses automatically come up on the screen when 911 is dialed. That's why I don't think I will ever get rid of my landline. What if the mother was unconscious and couldn't give her address and the little boy didn't know it????
Now that is a smart little boy who obviously has parents and teachers that have taught him very well on how to react in an emergency. How wonderful he could stay calm, call 911 and save his mother’s life at age 6. He was even ready to give chest compressions!!! What a little hero!!!!
so glad to read something positive! Finally!!
Congratulations to the parents on raising a great kid!
Wow, what a smart kid. His Mother is obviously very grateful for him.
'I want to be an ambulance person when I grow up' - too adorable!
Feel good story, very glad it was published. I'm glad the fire department recognized him. Especially with a new bike. That was very thoughtful of them. Most likely they had to pocket that expense themselves. Hope the Mom stays safe and continues to show that young man all the love and attention she can.
Why do we have so many people these days with fatal asthma and allergies so severe that smelling a peanut can kill them? No one had these conditions when I was a kid. Something bigger is wrong here.
I don't know how old you are, but I am 40 and I suffered respiratory arrest at the age of 16 due to an allergic reaction to a medication. I have also been asthmatic my entire life (due to my fathers smoking). The issues and severity have always been there, more so in the past. The control of ones asthma is by far better than ever! We are seeing and hearing more about the horror stories today because of the invent of the internet and access to stories so much easier. When I had mine, the doctors were in awe that I didn't die on day 2 of cardiac arrest. But being an athlete (knowing my limits) and a musician, it saved me.
Also, with general allergies,,,, my own feelings a lot of the time (not all) is that if we didn't protect kids from good'ol dirt so much, they would actually have an immune system.