Sal Cicalese, from San Tan Valley, Arizona, isn’t your average 5 year old.
This little boy is a real hero – and now he’s being praised across the internet for his quick thinking.
One day, when Jessica Penoyer was at home in San Tan Valley, there was a knock on the door.
There stood her 5 year old neighbor Sal Cicalese, with his little sister in his arms.
“He stood there holding something, and I thought it was a doll,” Jessica Penoyer tells ABC15 Arizona.
But it wasn’t a doll: it was Sal’s two month old sister.
At first Jessica thought that the boy was telling her that their dog died, but she soon understood that he was saying something else completely.
“He said ‘No, my mom died in the shower, can you take care of us?’,” Jessica tells ABC15 Arizona.
Once Jessica understood the horrifying message she immediately called an ambulance, which rushed to the scene.
Luckily, it turns out his mom wasn’t dead: she had had a seizure and fainted in the shower.
On pure instinct, Sal reacted immediately – and what the 5 year old did next left everyone shocked.
Thinking his mom was dead, the 5 year old realized that he needed to react to keep himself and his sister safe.
He dragged a stool up to the wall and climbed onto it.
That meant he could reach the button that controls the garage door.
The 5 year old also wrapped his baby sister in a blanket so that she would stay safe and warm.
Then he picked up his sister and rushed over to neighbor Jessica’s house!
After fetching help, the ambulance arrived and took care of his mom, who thankfully survived.
But if it hadn’t been for 5 year old Sal, this story could have ended very differently.
“Honestly he saved my life, because I was under the faucet, and if he hadn’t have gotten help I would have drowned,” mom Kaitlyn tells ABC15 Arizona.
Sal’s brave effort didn’t go unnoticed.
He has been named an honorary firefighter, receiving a diploma and a smart fireman’s helmet.
The firefighters and ambulance staff now want to spread this story to remind all parents of the importance of talking to their children about what to do in case of an emergency.
Watch a clip about the incident here:
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/3hr2lM007LY” /]
Share this story to praise this quick-thinking boy’s brave effort!
