A toddler who nearly choked to death on a grape has her quick-thinking 9-year-old "hero brother" to thank for making a phone call that saved her life.
The siblings' mother noticed her 3-year-old daughter jumping up and down in their South Pasadena home on Jan. 19 when she realized the toddler was choking.
"The first thing I did was try to give her a pat on the back, but nothing happened," Jennifer Santos said.
That's when she handed her son the phone and told him to call 911.
"I knew right away just to call and give the address," said 9-year-old Jaequon Santos, who had recently been working on memorizing their home address with his mom.
The 911 dispatcher who took Jaequon's call was impressed by the boy's preparation.
"He sounded very scared, but he was able to get the information that was needed, the address, and that's all that mattered," dispatcher Stephanie Barrientos said.
Meanwhile, Jennifer was still trying to save her daughter as she waited for the paramedics.
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"I took her outside just to be sure that she would be close to the ambulance," Jennifer said.
A good Samaritan riding a bicycle who was heading to work a shift at a nearby Starbucks heard Jennifer screaming for help.
The man performed CPR on the girl, whose breathing was heavily labored. A few minutes later, police and paramedics responded but still could not dislodge the grape.
She was taken to the hospital where the grape was finally removed, and she has since fully recovered.
Jaequon said he was relieved to see his little sister recover from the traumatic event, and his mother is just glad she trained her son well.
"I was very proud of him that he was able to give the correct address," Jennifer said. "We've practiced for him to memorize our address, and I was just really glad and proud to have him be able to do all of that ."
