A group of California firefighters are showing that it really does take a village to look out for our kids. Karen Garcia, a mom in Los Banos, California, was feeling the effects of a bad bout of vertigo while 35 weeks pregnant and was home alone with her sleeping children after her husband left for work. When her children woke up, they helped her call 911 to get help.
"They were so amazing," she told The Washington Post. "I could hear them frantically trying to help me." That's when the fire department showed up and saved the day.
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The firefighters immediately stepped up to help the kids
Los Banos Fire Department Captain Brian Thompson was one of the firefighters who showed up to the Garcia home that morning. After Garcia was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, he and his team set out to helping the kids: ages 11, 9, and 8.
"They were definitely worried about mom," Thompson said. "They were distraught."
Thompson and his team swore to keep an eye on the kids
With their mom at the hospital, the Garcia kids were alone. Their dad was three hours away at work, and it would take their closest relative an hour to get to them. While they waited, the kids spoke on the phone with their dad, who was "very concerned," according to Thompson. "And I reassured him we will be here until somebody gets here; we’ll treat them like they’re ours."
"I would hope that somebody would do that for my children and for my wife," Thompson, a father of six, said. "It really does take a village. We all have to look out for one another."
The kids got an extra-special breakfast that day
Thompson and his crew sprang to action, looking for a way to distract the kids from being worried about their mom. "I asked the kids what their morning ritual was," he shared.
After serving the kids some orange juice, Thompson decided it was time to make breakfast. "I got them involved to take out the toaster, the sugar, and the cinnamon," he said. "They helped me make them cinnamon sugar toast."
This definitely helped get their minds off their mom.
The kids had a day they'll never forget
After helping the kids get ready for school, Thompson and his team were called away, and a member of the police department showed up and watched TV with the kids until their uncle showed up to take them to school. When their mom got home from the hospital, they had nothing but good things to share.
"They were so excited to tell me about their morning," Garcia said. "They had totally forgotten that I was sick."
She added, "I couldn’t have asked for a better crew to show up."
