Video Captures Brave 5-Year-Old As She Rescues Her Drowning Mom
This heroic 5-year-old saved her mom from drowning in their backyard pool
Kids aren’t usually the people we look to in an emergency situation, but one extraordinary Texas five-year-old is being hailed a hero after she single-handedly rescued her mom from drowning.
Allison Anderwald was swimming in the family pool when her mom, Tracy, suddenly had a seizure and lost consciousness. Allison, who’s been swimming since she was two, immediately jumped into action, wading to her mom and using every bit of her strength to pull Tracy to shallow water. A surveillance camera in the backyard captured the entire rescue:
KRISTV.com | Continuous News Coverage | Corpus Christi
Allison managed to turn her mom over and get her face out of the water before running inside to get help. Allison’s aunt, Tedra Hunt, says it’s incredible the little girl was even able to do that much. “She [Tracy] was really heavy. I was only able to get the top part of her out, and then her other daughters ran over and helped me get her out,” Hunt told KRISTV. “Allison was able to do that on her own, and so it’s a miracle.”
Tracy’s mom was taken to the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. She tells KRISTV she has no recollection of her accident and woke up at the hospital not knowing where she was. It’s a terrifying reminder that even parents aren’t immune to accidents, but it’s incredible that little Allison knew exactly what to do to help her mom.
Preparing kids to handle emergencies is no easy task, especially when they’re as young as this little girl. My oldest child will turn five later this year, and even though we’ve gone over what to do in an emergency and how to call 9-1-1, I still worry about what would happen if ever I was incapacitated and it was up to her to get help. Hell, I can’t even get her to help locate her own left shoe half the time.
Allison may not realize it, but her quick thinking and her ability to stay calm in such a terrifying situation is truly extraordinary. She displayed coping skills most adults don’t even possess, and her heroic rescue is a reminder of just how smart and capable kids really are. Thank goodness her parents got her into swim lessons so young, and more importantly, thank goodness her mom is going to be okay.
