7-year-old saves his mother's life with 911 call

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (WABC) -- A young boy saved his mother's life with a call for help.

It a good lesson about why it's important to teach kids from a young age how to dial 911.

That's just what he did when his mother suddenly collapsed.

"My mom is lying on the floor and I don't know what's wrong with her," said Zachary Messina to the 911 operator.

7-year-old Zachary Messina did not know his mother just had a stroke.

Despite his fear and confusion, the pint sized hero knew exactly what to do.

"I just picked up the house phone and called 911," Zachary Messina said.

3 weeks ago, Laura Schilling's speech suddenly became very slurred and she collapsed in her home in Old Bridge, NJ.

The only one around was her little 2nd grader.

"What should I do?" Messina asked the dispatcher.

"Just stay on the phone. Do you know what's wrong with mommy?" the dispatcher asked.

"I don't know. She's lying on the floor," Messina said.

In the call, you can hear his mother when he put her on speaker phone.

She said something unintelligible and Messina said "I don't understand".

Last week, the police department and mayor surprised Zach at school with two plaques honoring his heroism.

It turns out Laura had three mini strokes that night.

Thanks to her son, she received critical medical care immediately.

Also thanks to Zach, she has now given up smoking.

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