Five-year-old calls 911; saves mom’s life | News

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) - One of the easiest phone numbers to remember is arguably 911. But when the life of a loved one is at stake, it can be easily forgotten by some children.

The DeBouse family says their 5-year-old daughter turned a simple school lesson into a life lesson.

With sparkly light-up shoes, Tianna DeBouse is playful and has a lot of energy. And with quick thinking and tiny fingers on a telephone, Tianna changed her family's world.

Tianna's mom, Adrienne, suffers from bronchial asthma. She recently collapsed to the ground, unable to breathe.

"The last thing I remember was just saying that, ‘God, I can't die like this,'" said Adrienne. "This time was the worst it had ever been."

On the other end of the call was a woman named Lauren. Lauren says Tianna gave the correct address information so that emergency responders could get there. As it turns out, the call came in the nick of time.

Tianna's grandmother, Melanie, lives states away and received an urgent EMS call saying that she needed to come the DeBose home right away.

"I had a breakdown, but I had to pray and I had to get here," said Melanie.

Melanie is grateful her granddaughter knew what to do.

"The doctor had said that minutes mattered," she said.

Everyone on the scene says Tianna remained calm the whole time, but she says being brave can be tough.

"I was afraid," said Tianna. "I was afraid…that my mom would never be able to take care of me anymore."

The Rachel Freeman School of Engineering has deemed Feb. 21 as Tianna's special day.

The community came together Tuesday to celebrate Tianna's quick thinking, reminding each of her classmates that one phone call can save a life.

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