Their deeds, which occurred two months apart last summer, bear a
striking similarity. Their mothers, each rescued by a composure
extraordinary by preschool standards, share the same illness
– epilepsy. And on Tuesday, the two Hollister boys will be
honored in Sacramento.
Tyler Hatchett, 7, and Benjamin Saldana, 6, will receive
”
911 for Kids Heroes
”
awards at a ceremony on the steps of the state Capitol for their
heroic efforts in calling the emergency phone number when their
mothers collapsed from seizures.
Their deeds, which occurred two months apart last summer, bear a striking similarity. Their mothers, each rescued by a composure extraordinary by preschool standards, share the same illness – epilepsy. And on Tuesday, the two Hollister boys will be honored in Sacramento.
Tyler Hatchett, 7, and Benjamin Saldana, 6, will receive “911 for Kids Heroes” awards at a ceremony on the steps of the state Capitol for their heroic efforts in calling the emergency phone number when their mothers collapsed from seizures.
Several professional athletes and state leaders will be on hand to present the boys with plaques.
“I’m too excited. I can barely wait,” Tyler said over the weekend.
Benjamin, who is “kind of shy” according to his mother, April, wasn’t as vocal about the upcoming ceremony, but he showed enthusiasm, nonetheless. He smiled widely, showing his two missing front teeth, and nodded his head in a show of excitement.
His sister Jazmyne, 3, wasn’t as reserved.
“I like Care Bears and Barbie, and I Iike Barney,” she said, wearing a serious expression.
Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Los Angeles, and professional football players Eric Wright and Kenyon Coleman will honor the boys, along with two other children from California.
Wright, a former San Francisco 49er, and Coleman, an Oakland Raider, represent the nonprofit organization Athletes and Entertainers for Kids.
Joe Farrow, deputy commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, and representatives from 911 for Kids will also be involved, and 60 children from Sacramento elementary schools will attend the ceremony.
Tyler, who goes to Cerra Vista School, and Benjamin, who goes to Sunnyslope School, each received a plaque at a City Council meeting in September for their uncommon efforts.
Hollister Fire Department Capt. Jeff Granucci said it’s “so rare” for one child to make a 911 call and prevent disaster – let alone two within two months.
“In the nine years I had been here, I hadn’t seen two kids so close together using the 911 system like that,” he said.
April Saldana collapsed June 7 while having a seizure, a common side effect of epilepsy but one she hadn’t experienced in seven years.
Benjamin, 5 years old at the time, picked up the phone and dialed 911.
“My mommy’s gone,” he told the dispatcher. “She can’t breathe. She had been shaking. Now she’s sleeping.”
April desperately needed a dose of her daily medication, and because of Benjamin’s call, paramedics revived her and took her to Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
“I blacked out,” she said after the incident.
Benjamin, whose favorite thing to do is “play with Spiderman stuff,” said nothing had been going through his mind at the time of the incident. He just picked up the phone and called, he said.
“Me and my husband told both kids,” April said, “if anything were to happen, if mommy and daddy couldn’t get to the phone, call 911.”
Across town, about two months after the incident at the Saldana home, Shannon Hatchett collapsed – also from an epileptic seizure. Tyler, then 6 years old, was at home with his mother and then-3-month-old brother Austin.
Tyler had only one thought when his mother collapsed: “Just to call 911,” he said.
“I think my mom is dead,” he said to the dispatcher.
The Hatchetts said they were surprised and impressed by Tyler’s judgment and calmness during the emergency situation. His father, Ron, said he had previously talked to Tyler about dialing 911, but not for the reason Tyler employed it.
“I told him why we don’t dial 911,” he said.
With three children in the Hatchett home, the police had previously been to the house for 911 hang-ups, Ron explained.
Tyler, who most enjoys the time he spends with his Gameboy Advance video game system, mentioned another reason he anxiously anticipates the ceremony Tuesday – to chat with Hollister’s other junior celebrity.
“I’ll tell him what my name is, and tell him what I like, and he’ll tell me what he likes,” Tyler said.
Aside from their appreciation for video games, the two boys have something else – much more unique, more remarkable – in common to foster a friendship.
