Fourteen-year-old Kyle Callwood never thought he'd be cracking jokes with the mayor. He also never thought he'd be dubbed a hero for helping his mother who was seriously injured when a balcony railing gave way.
Kyle and a handful of other children were honoured at Ottawa City Hall Thursday for their quick thinking in emergency situations.
Kyle, who was just 12 at the time, called for help when his mother was impaled by a piece of metal. A balcony gave way, sending a metal rod six inches into her thigh. His mother was left hanging upside down.
Kyle's mom told her son to call her best friend for help. But Kyle knew that wasn't good enough.
"My mom was like, ‘Call Jackie, call Jackie!' -- that's her best friend. And I was like, 'No mom, I'm going to call 911," Kyle told CTV Ottawa on Thursday.
However, Kyle wasn't alone in helping his mother. The boys next door also helped.
"They came out and wedged themselves under my body, under me to prevent me from falling further," said Crystal Veinot, Kyle's mother.
Kyle and his friends stayed with his mom until emergency workers arrived. She was only freed after firefighters used the jaws of life to cut her loose.
Despite the severity of the situation, Kyle managed to stay level-headed throughout the ordeal.
"He could have gone into full-on shock at witnessing that and done nothing," said Kyle's dad, Greg Callwood.
Looking back now, Kyle has some advice for other kids put in emergency situations: keep calm and call for help.
"If I hadn't called 9-1-1, if I ended up calling Jackie, she (mom) probably would have ended up in rehab," he said.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kate Eggins
