'She saved my life': N.B. parents hope near tragedy is a life lesson for families

As far as Monica and Mitchell Reece are concerned, there's no doubt their daughter is a hero.

Seven-year-old Bria and her three-year-old sister Lexa went for a jeep ride with their father on a dirt road behind their property in Irishtown, N.B., last Saturday.

A regular trip for the trio, but this time with a horrible outcome.

Monica said they were only gone for about 30 minutes when Bria came home screaming.

“I was in the house and she came screaming, 'Call 911, daddy's not breathing,’” said Monica.

Mitchell suffered some kind of seizure and knew something was wrong right away.

He tried to drive home, but lost his vision and had to stop. He then passed out.

Bria couldn't call 911 because she didn't know the pass code to her father's cellphone.

She tried to get her little sister to come with her, but she couldn’t keep up.

Bria told Lexa to stay put and then ran home, about a kilometre away.

“We've played so many other what if scenarios in our heads,” said Monica. “If she hadn't been with him, what would have happened? I wouldn't have known. He could have been hours out there by himself. She definitely could have saved his life. She definitely saved his life.”

Monica called 911 and ran back to the jeep with Bria.

“What I saw when I got back there was terrifying,” said Monica.

She then told her daughter to be extra brave again and run back to the house and wait for the paramedics so she could show them where to go.

Mitchell said all he could think about before he passed out was getting the kids home safe.

“She's a super hero in my eyes. I'm quite convinced I'd probably still be out there today if it wasn't for her. She saved my life,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell spent four days in hospital, but is fine now.

The family spoke with CTV News because they wanted to get the message out to other parents about having their kids prepared for an emergency.

Fire Prevention Officer Scott Hopper of the Moncton Fire Department said there are three ways to make a 911 call on a cellphone without knowing someone’s pass code.

They can press the buttons on each side of the phone to access 911, holding down those buttons will make a call automatically and there is an emergency option on the screen that prompts for the passcode.

“Despite the hesitance from parents to have their kids tech savvy at an early age, in this regard it's important that they should at least teach them this procedure and be able to call 911 through a cell phone,” said Hopper.

Hopper said children should also know what a medical emergency looks like.

“Practice with them what a situation might look like,” said Hopper. “Mom and dad might not be able to answer the phone. They might not be able to respond.”

It's also very important for to kids know their home address so those in need get a timely response from emergency services,” Hopper added.

Bria was too shy to do an interview, but sheepishly nodded in agreement when asked if she was a hero.

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