Toddler Gets Help After Aunt Has Seizure

A toddler saved his aunt by running for help when she had a seizure.

ByABC News
September 15, 2012, 3:43 PM

Sept. 15, 2012— -- A three-year-old is being hailed as a hero for saving his aunt's life in Wilmington, Del., this week.

Tyrone Copeland Jr. was playing near his aunt in Speakman Park at 3 p.m. Friday when his aunt began to have a seizure. Instead of sitting idly by, the toddler ran across the park to bystanders, told them about the seizure and said they should call 911.

Tyrone told Paula Thomas that his aunt was "laying there and she's had a seizure and her mouth was closed," Thomas told WPVI-TV, ABC's Philadelphia station. She and another bystander then scrambled to follow the little boy back across the park to his aunt.

"This is something that a 3-year-old is saying," said Officer Mike Ivey, a spokesman for the Wilmington Police Department, emphasizing how impressive it is for a child Tyrone's age to communicate so well.

When police arrived, the toddler was back at his aunt's side. He told them his name, his aunt's name and his address. His aunt, Deneene Copeland, was unable to speak and disoriented because of the seizure, Ivey said.

"He is just amazing because he knew his name, he knew his address, and he told us concisely what was wrong and where to go," Thomas said.

Deneene was transported to a nearby hospital and returned home that evening. She had suffered seizures in the past, but police did not know the details of her medication condition.

The neighborhood policing unit is expected to have a ceremony in the toddler's honor next week, where he'll get a certificate of accommodation, Ivey said. It's not yet clear when that ceremony will be.

"I didn't even know he was able to do that," said Tyrone Copeland Sr., the toddler's father.