(MONUMENT, Colo.) — One 11-year-old boy from Monument was surprised with the 911 Local Heroes Award at the Monument Fire Department after helping to save his mom’s life during a medical emergency last year.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office gathered with the Monument Fire Department to present 11-year-old Sawyer Ryan with the 911 Local Hero Award. While Sawyer was overjoyed to receive this award, he said he just did what he had to do in order to save his mom.
On Aug. 23, 2022, Sawyer’s mom had a medical emergency where she went unconscious. In the days leading up to the incident, she had been fainting due to medical issues, but adults had always been there to handle the situation.
“That day when it was just us [Sawyer and his brothers] Mom felt a little dizzy, and she thought she was going to faint again… She told Skylar [Sawyer’s 13-year-old brother] and me, hey, if anything happened, if she passes out to call 911,” Sawyer recalled.
And that is exactly what Sawyer did. He calmly followed instructions from the dispatcher, counted his mom’s breaths, to make sure she was breathing effectively, and made sure her head was tilted back to keep her airway open. This all while he also was keeping tabs on their dogs and his two brothers.
“I was worried how it would go and how she would be,” said Sawyer.
El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal presented Sawyer with the 911 Hero Award, in front of his family and friends, and the Monument Fire Department.
“Sawyer was the hero his mom needed that day. It was for Sawyer’s courage and dependability in a crisis that the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and El Paso County and Teller 911 Authority presented him with this 911 Hero Award,” Royabl said, congratulating Sawyer.
His mom, Sarah Ryan, says she was filled with pride as she watched him receive the award.
“He did such an amazing job on the call, it just made me feel so proud, knowing that he can handle that kind of situation,” said Sarah.
Sawyer says any kid can do what he did by following these simple steps, “Deep breaths, do the best you can, and be yourself.”
The purpose of the 911 Local Heroes Award is to recognize heroic youngsters who call 9-1-1 and calmly provide the dispatcher with the necessary information. While the 911 Hero Awards recognizes heroic actions, it also intends to spread awareness about how important it is to teach kids how to respond to emergencies, as Sawyer did with his mom.
