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A young boy shocked his neighbour when she discovered him on her doorstep with his baby sister after his mum had blacked out in the shower.

Five-year-old, Salvatore Cicalese, was in bed when he heard his mother fall. He grabbed his two-month-old baby sister, wrapped her in a blanket and took her to the living room.

He then proceeded to grab a bar stool and went out into the garage, stood on the stool to open the garage door, went back in the house to get his baby sister and carried her to their neighbor’s home.

“My Mum Died In The Shower”

Neighbour, Jessica Penoyer, says she was surprised when little Sal showed up at her front door by himself at night.

“He’s standing there and holding something and I thought it was a doll,” she said. Jessica admits she initially thought Sal was telling her his dog died.

“He said no, my mum died in the shower. Can you take care of us?” said Penner.

What A Little Hero

She called the emergency number and found the child’s mother unconscious in the bathtub, with the shower still running.

“Honestly he saved my life. I was under the faucet. if he wouldn’t have gotten help, I would I would have drowned,” said Sal’s mother Kaitlyn Cicalese.

This was her second seizure since her pregnancy. Ms Cicalese said all she remembers was putting her children to bed, then going to take a shower after a stressful day.

“I turned on the shower, that’s all I remember,” said Ms Cicalese. Her next memory was waking up in the hospital.

She said the incident had been traumatic for her son.

“Every day is a challenge for us. He asks me a billion times if I’m going to be okay. He’ll tell me ‘are you going to have another seizure,’ no I’m ok. Are you going to die today? No, I’m not going to die today,” said Ms Cicalese.

He Didn’t Want His Sister To See His Mum Dead

She added that Sal had told his “nana” that he took the baby and left to get help because he did not want his sister to see their mummy dead.

Sal did not say much, but he showed ABC15 Arizona how he climbed on top of the bar stool to get help. He said he fell on a stack of shoes at one point, then got back up on the stool.

Ms Cicalese said she was amazed at the courage and bravery her son had displayed.

Rural Metro firefighters decided to honour the child after hearing the story. A fire truck rolled up to the home one afternoon.

Fire spokesman Shawn Gilleland presented Sal with an “honorary firefighter” certificate, a patch, a shirt, and a helmet.

“Rural Metro fire wants to recognize you as an honorary firefighter. You get to join the ranks of all these guys that came to help your mum,” said Gilleland.

He added that this story was a great example for parents to discuss how to respond to an emergency with their children.

“Talk to them about it. What do you need to do? How do you get out of your house? What to do if there is a fire,” said Gilleland.

Little Sal’s family said they had not discussed any of this with their son before, it seems like he acted on instinct..

What a brave little boy!

Share your comments below.

Image via ABC15

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  • What a smart little fellow. A lucky mum right here thanks to her little hero

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  • He deserves a ‘Little Hero Award’ if anyone does – especially for thinking about his sister as well as his mum. And thanks to the neighbor too.

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  • This is an amazing story and one with a very good ending. Well done young man.

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  • Geez what a brave little man!

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  • What a little legend. Well done and what a lucky Mum to have such a clever boy.


    • He is a little legend and mum must be super proud!

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  • Such a brave little boy!

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  • that is amazing and that boy did a great job and took care of his sibling

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  • What a brave young boy indeed !! really amazing how he reacted with such accurate and responsible behavior.
    They should design an alarm that connects people suffering seizures with an emergency post or so !

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  • A very brave mature little boy. I am sure he knows the correct procedure now.
    A know a boy who has been told by his family if there is ever a fire and he can’t get out of the room without getting burnt to break the window with whatever he can and get out, regardless of whose house he is in.

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  • With how hard I try to drum into my boy that he isn’t ever to leave the house without a grown up, I think I might have to drown in the shower before he goes for help.

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  • What an amazing response! My cousins children know to get her and tell her “Daddy’s sick”, when he has seizures, they’re aged 2 and 4.

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  • What a clever young man. It’s amazing how smart a lot of children can be when forced into it by the situation that arises.

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  • What a beautiful little boy. I hope my son grows up to be as loving and caring as him.

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  • What a good son and a real champion, you have done your mother proud and your strength and bravery was deserving of the honour you received. Get well mum.

    Reply

  • Oh my gosh, what a beautiful little boy, a true blessing. To only think of his baby sister when he thought his mother had died, what a little sweetie. Bless him

    Reply

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