A tech-savvy toddler might have saved her dad’s life when she made the split-second decision to FaceTime her mom — as her father was in the midst of having a stroke, according to a new report.
Three-year-old Molly McCabe, of Frederick County, Va., knew something was wrong when her dad, Trevor McCabe, 27, collapsed on the Fourth of July, The Winchester Star reported. So she quickly grabbed her dad’s iPhone and dialed her mom, using the video-calling feature FaceTime.
“I actually missed her first FaceTime call,” Devon McCabe, 29, a nurse at Winchester Medical Center, told the outlet.
Devon was working in the hospital’s neuro-intensive care unit at the time of her daughter’s first call — but luckily, Molly decided to make a second call about 15 minutes later.
“She was sobbing, crying, [saying], ‘Look at daddy, look at daddy,’” Devon told the paper.
Then Molly turned the phone to show her father convulsing on the floor.
“I was immediately aware that something was wrong,” Devon said, adding that she assured her daughter she’d be home soon. She then called a neighbor and close friend who raced to the home and called 911.
Trevor’s collapse came as a shock to the family — who had spent the night before kayaking on the lake and watching fireworks, Devon told the paper. Less than 24 hours later, he was on life support after a blood clot traveled to a major brain artery, causing a stroke.
“Life can change in an instant,” Devon told the paper.
Trevor was taken to Winchester Medical Center, where he received medication, and then airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital for emergency brain surgery. Early this week, he remained in critical care but had begun to respond to stimuli, according to the report.
Though doctors are “really optimistic” that he will make a full recovery, that’s not guaranteed, Devon added. Doctors learned that Trevor has a rare condition that makes him prone to a stroke, resulting from a hole in his heart that should have closed after infancy, according to the report. Since the hole did not close, a clot formed and traveled to his brain.
“It’s just going to be a long road,” Devon told the outlet.
“The only reason he’s doing so well is because he was able to get intervention so quickly,” she added.
And his daughter Molly deserves lots of credit for that, Dr. Jeffrey W. Carter, a trauma critical care doctor at Winchester Medical Center who works with Devon, said in an email to the paper. He called the toddler’s actions “one of the most amazing stories of my life,” adding that her efforts “definitely” helped save her father’s life.
In addition to her heroic actions, Molly also managed to keep her 2-year-old sister Maggie alive in those traumatic moments, her mother told the paper, laughing.
“She’s a terror,” she joked.