PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 3-year-old boy in Pontiac is being hailed as a hero after his quick thinking potentially saved his mother's life when she collapsed during a seizure Thursday afternoon.
Watch Jeffrey Lindblom's video report:
Shantell Woods was cooking when she became dizzy and sat on her couch. Woods, who has epilepsy, says she then had a seizure and fell unconscious in her living room with no one around except her young son, Cody.
"I want to cry right now. He's just my hero," Woods said.
While his mother was unconscious, Cody grabbed her phone and held it close to her face to unlock it. The boy then made a FaceTime call to someone with a familiar face.
"He called Kaya," Woods said.
Kaya initially thought the call came from her friend Chantell before she lost consciousness, but quickly realized something was wrong.
"Kaya, help mommy, help mommy," Cody said during the call.
"I panicked. I was crying and going through the emotions," Kaya said. "Come to find out it was Cody."
Woods says seizures are part of life for her, and over the last couple of months, she has had more than 20 seizures. Cody has witnessed his mother's medical episodes before, which helped him know what to do during the emergency.
"And he's just a smart kid," Woods said.
The community has already started celebrating the young hero, with some people promising him free ice cream for the rest of the year. Cody, who has a birthday next month, was appropriately wearing a blanket as a cape when interviewed about his heroic actions.
"It's amazing," one Kaya said. "I was surprised, but happy he knew what to do."
Shantell has set up a GoFundMe account to help with expenses incurred since her epilepsy diagnosis.
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