Missouri boy saves grandmother

New American, The, June 9, 2008 by Warren Mass

Nine-year-old Tyler Witt, a student at Ozark South Elementary School in Ozark, Missouri, was with his grandmother last February when she suddenly suffered an apparent seizure.

"She was dying. She's about 50," Tyler told OzarksFirst.com (Springfield, Mo.), presumably thinking at his young age that someone 50 years "old" already has one foot in the grave!

In any event, our quick-thinking young man first tried to call 911, but his phone did not work. Undaunted, he quickly knocked on neighborhood doors until he found someone home who could call 911 to summon help.

When the rescue personnel arrived, however, they had difficulty in finding the right house. Though they had the correct address, the houses were unmarked and similar-looking.

Tyler was determined to get help for his grandmother, though. "When I arrived there, I saw Tyler at the end of the driveway waving his arms, trying to get my attention and it was obvious that's where I needed to go," Christian County Sheriff's Department Deputy D.J. Outhouse told reporters.

Then the ambulance drivers had difficulty finding the house. Tyler, however, remedied that problem as well. Deputy Outhouse explained:

   He chased the ambulance down because
   they had gone into another
   housing area. Tyler chased that ambulance
   down through the woods to
   direct them back to where they were
   supposed to go. A lot of adults don't
   even have the presence of mind to do
   that in the presence of obstacles that
   he was facing that day. In my mind,
   I find it remarkable that he was able
   to do that.

Tyler's grandmother rebounded from her malady just fine, and Tyler was rewarded for his clear-headed thinking and quick action.

The Christian County Sheriff's Department gave Tyler a commendation of merit during an assembly at his elementary school.