An eleven-year-old student saves her bus driver during a terrifying asthma attack on a school bus, and her quick actions give us a story we all need to hear today.
It was supposed to be a normal afternoon in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Bella Scott was riding the bus home from Viola Gibson Elementary School like she always does. But sometimes God puts us exactly where we need to be when we least expect it. She noticed her driver Christine Huston wasn’t acting like her usual self. Huston was having a severe asthma attack and the situation was getting worse by the minute.
Huston’s breathing became a struggle and she couldn’t talk right. “She was like coughing a lot and like wheezing and she was like talking weird, like her voice sounded different,” Scott said. It was a terrifying moment for the driver. “Coughing fits is one thing, but being unable to breathe was very traumatic and scary for me,” Huston explained.
Scott knew she had to do something right then. She grabbed her cell phone from her backpack and called her dad. “I called my dad a few times and told him what was happening over and over again. And I described the location of where we were so, he could find us,” Scott said. “You can’t just watch that happen without doing anything. It was definitely scary. I’m proud of myself for doing all that stuff.”
By the grace of God, her dad was already nearby out getting his mail on a golf cart. He rushed over to the bus. The moment Huston saw him the gravity of the situation finally hit her. “When I saw the golf cart, I’m like, is that your dad? That’s your dad! That’s when I realized I really need help,” Huston said.
Scott’s dad dialed 911 right away. EMS crews arrived soon after and provided Huston the medical help she desperately needed. She fully credits the fifth grader for stepping in when it mattered most. “I would say she saved my life. She really did,” Huston said. “Not all heroes wear capes. She had a cell phone in a backpack. And she called her hero, which is her dad. He saved my life too. It meant a lot,” she said.
This little girl could have easily thought her driver could manage the attack by herself. She could have assumed she will be alright or that someone else would take care of it. Let us be honest because that is exactly what most of us adults would think. But this little girl did not take a chance. She acted.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs not to withhold good when it is in your power to help. She saw someone hurting and she helped right then and there. We need to do whatever we can when we see someone in need instead of walking away from that responsibility.
Please pray for Huston as she recovers and ask God to give you that same courage to help the people right in front of you.
“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:4
WATCH: 5th Grader Notices Bus Driver Struggling to Breathe, Her Next Move Saves a Life
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