Copyright 2006 Denver Publishing Company
By FELIX DOLIGOSA JR.
Rocky Mountain News
WESTMINSTER, Colo. — As Danielle Campbell stood in her kitchen Wednesday morning packing leftover ravioli in her son’s lunchbox, her blood pressure rose unexpectedly. A lightheadedness overcame Campbell and caused her body to collapse onto the hardwood floor.
Campbell’s hero that day was her 4-year-old son, Joshua Campbell- Fragoso. It marked the second time in a month the youngster called 911 to say, “Mommy fell down.”
“I’m very, very proud of him,” Campbell, 24, said Thursday as she held Joshua on her couch.
The Westminster Fire Department recognized Joshua for his quick thinking and gave him a junior lifesaver award on Thursday. Joshua was also given a firefighter suit and a shiny red toy firetruck.
“He’s my whole world,” his mother said.
Campbell suffers from neurocardiogenic syncope, a condition that causes her to faint. Diagnosed with the disease in the winter, Campbell feels its effects when she stands for too long.
After she blacked out in February, Campbell began teaching Joshua, her only son, how to use the phone and what to say to dispatchers.
Her lessons paid off on May 2.
Campbell was also preparing lunch for her preschooler that day when she collapsed behind her kitchen counter. Joshua, thinking his mother had left, searched the entire home until he came across her.
Campbell woke up to hear her son talking on the phone to a police dispatcher.
When she fainted again 15 days later, Joshua sat by his mother and cried as he tried to wake her up. Joshua then scurried to a cordless phone on a nearby counter.
He called 911 again.
Joshua calmly told the dispatcher that his mommy “is not getting up.” When he placed a hand over her nose, he felt “a little air,” according to the 911 call.
Joshua stayed on the line with the dispatcher until police and firefighters showed up. Campbell, who is taking medication for her condition, regained consciousness shortly after authorities arrived.
“I’m glad that he called,” Campbell said. “It’s a lot for him to handle.”
When asked what he thought about helping his mom, Joshua didn’t answer but flashed his light brown eyes. Lucky for Campbell, the little boy says more when he calls 911.
After Thursday’s ceremony, Joshua pushed the toy firetruck across a table in his living room.
“That’s what shows up at your house,” a firefighter told him.