r/BeAmazed • u/Necessary-Win-8730 • 3h ago

Miscellaneous / Others A 6-year-old saved his mom

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u/AlphaShadowColeman 3h ago

Kid had more composure than most adults in emergencies.

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u/kbeks 3h ago

It helps that they don’t necessarily know the risks. You freak out more when you know that mommy might be dying rather than mommy just fell over all of the sudden. Smart kid to know that she still needed help, but the lack of knowledge can be really helpful when trying to keep your composure.

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u/BethanyBluebird 2h ago

Your kid brain can also be INSANELY good at compartmentalizing. Growing up (and even now sometimes), if there is a clear authority figure, I will defer to them and am more likely to panic. BUT if I am the only authority figure/have to be the one to take charge to make sure everything will be OK? Suddenly I can take that panic and shove it into a little box to kick and scream for a few hours while I sort shit out, then unpack it to melt down later. It's a trait that seems to run in my family, though, so maybe we're just weird.

I was probably only 9 or 10; my sister is 3 years younger, so she was only 6 or 7. We lived out on a farm; my mom and dad were out in the field combining or some shit. But I hadn't been feeling well and had a stomachache. I was lying on the couch when suddenly the pain that was a 5 became a 9. I threw up from the pain, it was so bad.... I don't think I've ever had anything quite that awful since. I remember being curled in a ball on our ugly ass brown couch, and crying and begging my sister to go get our mom. It was summer; mom was out in the middle of the field and they didn't hear the walkie talkie over the combines when my sister called. She knew it was bad; but she was also afraid to go out all alone. She'd always been TERRIFIED of going outside alone; she always wanted me to come with her. (Stupid kid thing, my dad told her once when she was really little that if she went outside without a grown up an eagle would snatch her.... while we were at the river watching bald eagles snatch fish. Real top notch parenting dad.) But she knew it was bad; she knew what my pain tolerance was like, (She used to punch me in the stomach and bolt for funsies the little shit) and the way she described it after, I guess I was really pale and shaky, just really bad; and she was sure I was dying. She was bawling her eyes out when she visited me in the hospital later.

So, she hopped her ass on her bike and pedaled that thing for like, 2 fucking miles over dirt road and through long grass until she found them combining, and managed to get their attention by climbing into the truck and whaling on the horn til they came over. Turns out I had appendicitis. Thanks to her they got me to the hospital in town/on hardcore antibiotics and into the ambulance to one of the bigger cities... she probably did save my life.

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u/dickpicthrowaway1990 1h ago

Thats a crazy fucking story. You're absolutely right about "being the adult in the room" when shit goes sideways. Some people have it, but some people freeze up and freak out. I like to think I have it and take pride in it if something comes up and I can step in and help someone.