CLEVELAND, Texas – A Cleveland mother who has narcolepsy was in need of help, and her 3-year-old daughter knew exactly what to do.
"I am extremely proud. She's my little hero. She's my baby," said Miranda Craig. "I suffer from narcolepsy so occasionally I just have episodes where I just pass out."
Her little girl, Dorothy, calls the episodes "spells."
On Wednesday, her mother suffered from a spell from which she could not wake.
"It's a very scary situation but I'm proud to know that, if something does happen, she knows what to do," Craig said.
Using the skills her mother taught her, Dorothy called 911.
"'Dial the 9-1-1,' and she just pushes the talk button," Craig said.
The child stayed on the phone with dispatchers as Liberty County deputies tried to find the home. Using the location of Craig's cellphone, deputies searched the general area from which the call came from.
"Open the door for me, OK?" said the dispatcher to the 3-year-old. "I have deputies out looking for you. Open the door for me, OK?"
Dorothy tried to open the door. The dispatcher asked the little girl if she heard sirens or saw flashing lights.
"I do, I think," Dorothy told the dispatcher.
Meanwhile, deputies spotted a little boy in the window. It was Dorothy's 2-year-old brother playing in the kitchen sink. The deputies entered the house and found Dorothy, her brother Justin and her mother, who was on the floor asleep.
"I'm very thankful for all the cops and paramedics that came out. They told me that they had all of Liberty County looking for me because she couldn't really tell them exactly where we were at," Craig said.
Craig said it is important for children to learn how to call for help.
"I was very lucky," Craig said.