Not all heroes wear capes; sometimes, they come in small packages like five-year-olds. This story is from 2017 and it’s important to remember this boy’s bravery – to share how he accomplished such an impressive feat.
A five-year-old boy from San Tan Valley, Arizona proved that age does not count when it comes to taking ownership of a difficult situation like saving someone’s life.
On May 14, 2017, Kaitlyn Cicalese, a young mom of two children, was busy doing her usual house chores. After dinner, she put her little daughter to sleep and went to take a shower in the bathroom while her son was in the bedroom.
While having the shower she suffered a seizure and fell onto the floor. She hit her head on the bathtub and blacked out.
Luckily, Salvatore was still awake and heard a loud thud from the bathroom. He immediately ran to see what had happened. When he got inside, he saw her mother lying on the bathroom floor, all covered in blood.
The poor boy thought that her mother was dying. He immediately ran outside and grabbed his two-month-old sister. Then, he opened the garage door and headed to their next-door neighbor’s house.
The neighbor, Jessica Penoyer, opened the door and became surprised to see Kaitlyn’s kids standing outside at such an odd hour.
While speaking to ABC 15, she said that Salvatore appeared at her door holding his little sister, and he looked worried.
“He’s standing there and holding something, and I thought it was a dog. He said no, my mom died in the shower. Can you take care of us?”
Penoyer’s said that she instantly ran towards their house to check and found Kaitlyn lying on the bathroom floor with the water still running. So, she called 911, and the help arrived shortly.
The rescue team gave Kaitlyn immediate medical attention, and fortunately, she recovered.
When she woke up in the hospital, the young mother revealed that she did not remember anything except that she put her daughter to sleep and went to take a bath.
She said if Salvatore had not gone out to call her neighbor, she would have died.
“I owe my life to my little boy; had he not gotten immediate help, I would have drowned right there, in the bathtub.”
Kaitlyn also said that although she fully recovered from the episode, the incident still shakes little Salvatore.
She said he would keep asking her from time to time if she was feeling better.
“He is worried all the time. Like whenever I tell him I’m going to take a shower, he becomes conscious. And he would say, Are you going to have another seizure? “Please don’t lock the door,” Cicalese said emotionally.
She further said that he is still under the trauma of that night, but she is trying her best to make him easy about it.
“Hopefully, as time passes, he’ll come to realize that this was just a freak occurrence that shouldn’t happen again. Thanks to his quick thinking and action, I owe my life to my little boy.” She said.
The Rural Metro fire department honored the brave five-year-old boy with a shirt, a patch, a helmet, and an honorary firefighter certificate.
The spokesman Shawn Gilleland said that Salvatore would join the ranks of other members of the team who rescued Kaitlyn.
He also said that Salvatore is an inspiration for all other children. And parents should teach their kids how to act in an emergency.
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