3-year-old's mom was at work when her dad suffered a stroke—her FaceTime call in the next few seconds changed everything
It can be terrifying if you’re suddenly the one who holds the power to save a life. Much more, if you’re a 3-year-old, clueless about so many things happening at the spur of the moment. Little Molly was home alone with her dad, Trevor, and 2-year-old sister, Maggie, when he suddenly suffered a stroke, CBS News stated. Her mom, Devon, who is a neuro-intensive nurse was unfortunately at work at the time. Luckily, she received a FaceTime call from her husband's phone and learned of the terrifying situation. It was her 3-year-old and her powerful determination that ensured Trevor received help in time and was saved.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a stroke often occurs at later ages, but can also occur at other ages. On an annual basis, 795,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke. The most important thing during this unprecedented attack is early intervention. However, for Trevor, it seemed impossible with just his daughters at home. He was getting them breakfast as usual when he heard a “buzzing sound.” At first, he suspected it was coming from the sink, but it didn’t take long for the dad to realize that it was a sound in his head. He quickly knew something was seriously wrong.
Without further ado, the dad made his way to his phone to call his wife. With the stroke getting the better of him, he was only able to unlock his phone before he could no longer move his fingers. He soon went unconscious and collapsed on the sofa and then onto the floor. When Molly spotted her dad, she initially thought he was fooling around. The little girl soon realized something was terribly wrong. In a jiffy, she decided to call her mom. While she wasn’t aware how to use a phone, she recalled how she would Facetime her grandparents and tried the same steps to contact Devon. “Maybe she recognized the name from seeing it when my husband called me,” the mom remarked.
When Devon answered the call, all she could see was chaos and a frantic worry. "Once I answered, I knew something was horribly wrong," she said, recalling how Molly was sobbing. "She was just saying, 'Daddy, Daddy. Look at Daddy, something happened to Daddy,” she added. Fear covered Devon at that moment. She was away at work and had no idea what had happened to her husband. She mentioned how “she couldn’t think straight” when she saw the father-daughter duo helpless at home. Nevertheless, she quickly hurried to get herself together and work things out. She informed one of the neighbors and Trevor was quickly transported to Winchester Hospital.
It was revealed that the dad had suffered a basilar artery occlusion, a form of acute stroke which is often fatal. He was quickly airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital. The dad underwent a craniectomy and also had a second surgery. "85 percent of people with this type of stroke don't survive, and those who do are typically in a vegetative state," the mom remarked. They were grateful that Trevor made it through and was finally recovering. Early intervention drastically changed the course of events and if not for Molly and her mum, things wouldn’t have been the same.