It’s not every day a 5-year-old helps save his mother’s life. During an emergency, even grown adults panic and aren’t sure what to do. So when it does happen, people take notice and rightfully laud the child as a hero.
Recently, a young boy’s quick thinking contributed to saving his mother during a hiking accident in Idaho. The 5-year-old was in the woods by himself with his mom when a tree crushed her. However, he was able to find help quickly — and is one of the reasons she’s still here today.
On July 29, 2024, Natalie Franks was on a hike with her family in Ketchum, Idaho. Her husband, Andy, and their younger son turned around on the trail while she and her 5-year-old, Colton, continued without them, Fox 11 reported. Colton was riding on his mom’s back. At one point, she set him down to find a walking stick. That’s when a pine tree fell and pinned her to the ground.
Colton attempted to lift the tree from Natalie, but was unsuccessful, Andy told Fox 11. Instead, he ran screaming for help, alerting a couple also hiking. They called 911 and remained with Natalie until help arrived.
“This man was lying on his belly with his cheek on the ground, face to face with Natalie, and he was just telling her, ‘Let’s just do one more breath. Can you do one more breath?'” Andy told the news outlet.
At the hospital, doctors discovered Natalie had a dislocated hip and knee, a collapsed lung, and a severed artery — in addition to nine broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade, three broken vertebrae, a broken hip, and more, according to a GoFundMe campaign organized to benefit the family.
“Her left leg was twisted 180 degrees around her,” Andy told Fox 11. “[Her] two feet were facing in different directions, like how you organize your shoes from time to time. Her shoulder was kind of sitting underneath her chin.”
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Natalie was able to have a video call with Colton to thank him for saving her. On July 31, Andy shared that Natalie was able to breathe on her own and speak briefly.
“Natalie was able to speak a bit to me today and, at her first request, we FaceTimed Colton,” he wrote via GoFundMe. “She cried as she thanked him for helping save her life and find her help.”
The crowdfunding campaign has raised an impressive amount of money so far.
On the GoFundMe campaign page, Andy and other family members continue to offer regular updates on Natalie’s condition. Supporters have already managed to raise more than $147,000, as of writing. This is out of the $175,000 goal.