Wednesday, January 31, 2001

Boy, 4, big hero to mom

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

When Ryan Smith peeked into the kitchen, he saw his mom, Tina, lying on the floor.

The 4-year-old tried to get her to roll over, but there was no response.

When she couldn't answer him, the Fayetteville youth knew exactly what to do.

He called 911.

Dispatcher Cathy Conger answered the phone and Ryan got right to the heart of the situation.

"My mommy got hurt," he said.

In the first 45 seconds of the call, Ryan said his mom was on the floor in the kitchen, he didn't know how she was hurt and her eyes were closed. He also told Conger that his dad, Jerry, was at work and he was alone at home with his mom.

Later, confiding to another dispatcher in a warbling voice, Ryan said his mom's eyes were closed "like she was dead."

Paramedics were sent immediately to the Smiths' Fayetteville home so Tina could be rushed to the hospital.

Doctors later determined Tina had passed out due to a minor heart condition she had been recently diagnosed with. Hours after the situation began, she was released from the hospital.

That happened in April of last year. Just last week, Ryan was recognized with several other youths in Georgia for their heroics in remembering to call 911 and get help in an emergency situation.

Ryan, a student at Fayette Elementary School, was presented with a medal from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. Monday afternoon, he recalled who taught him to call 911 for help.

"My mom put it in my head, 'cause I listen to her," Ryan said.

All Tina remembers from that fateful morning is leaving Ryan's bedroom after he said he was hungry.

Ryan remembers much more. He found her lying down in the kitchen with a knife in her hand from where she was putting butter in his oatmeal.

"I thought, 'What is she doing? Is she trying to play around, or maybe she's passed out?'" Ryan said. "So I called 911."

Minutes after Ryan's call, the paramedics arrived and he unlocked the door for them. As the ambulance drove Tina to the hospital, Ryan rode up front next to the driver.

"He was driving and I was sitting," Ryan remembered.

Well before the incident occurred, Tina had practiced calling 911 with Ryan on one of his toy telephones. She made it very clear that it was only to be used in emergencies.

Sure enough, Ryan knew when to make the call.

Tina urged other parents to teach their children to remember their name, address and phone number in case they ever need to call 911.

"I told him you should call 911 if you ever see me passed out because you can't fix it," Tina Smith explained. She admitted that she worried he'd call 911 just to see if it worked, but he never did.

Ryan said he might want to be a paramedic one day. But he's not quite ready to commit to that.

"I'm still just a kid," he said. "I have a long, long time to decide."