When this three-year-old ran next door, they thought he was playing, but then his mom saw blood. Like most three-year-olds, Jackson Lopez likes to play. So when he ran into the neighbor’s yard while being picked up from his grandma’s home one day, his mom didn’t think anything of it. However, then she heard his cries for help, and when she saw blood, she realized exactly what her young son was doing. Kelsey Sprouse works at MD Express as a nurse.
She lives in Gloucester, Virginia and has been engaged to Daniel Lopez since September 2014. Together, they have two young sons, Jackson, age three, and one-year-old Landon. Similar to most young kids, three-year-old Jackson has a curious mind. He doesn’t stay in one place for too long and sometimes wanders off to explore under the watchful eye of his mom. Of course, one day his curiosity led him into the neighbor’s front yard.
It was February 4th, 2017. Jackson had been at his grandmother’s house in Gloucester that cold winter’s day, and his mom Kelsea had subsequently arrived to pick him up. Then, as she carried a basket of clothes to load into the car, her son followed her outside. On pretty much any other day, Kelsey would have sent her son back inside since he didn’t have a coat with him.
However, on this day, for some reason, she didn’t even realize. « I didn’t think twice about it, » she later told News 3 on WTKR. « He just walked out with me to the car. » Then, despite wearing minion headphones, Kelsey heard her son’s voice, « Help, help, » she thought he said. Nevertheless, she dismissed it as him just repeating something he’d perhaps heard on TV that morning. The next thing she knew, though, Jackson had run off into the neighbor’s front yard.
Naturally, as her son ran away, Kelsey became more concerned, and so she asked, « Does somebody need help? » Then, she heard a noise come from the neighbor’s garage. And while the response was barely audible, it was enough to catch the mom’s attention. Now, Kelsey began to realize what was going on. She could see the neighbor on the floor of her garage. No doubt, Kelsey’s training as a nurse kicked in too, because she could immediately see the lady was in trouble. Indeed, she was bleeding and needed help quickly. Sprouse probably called 9-1-1 as she did so.
Meanwhile, she instructed her son to go back to his grandma’s house to get help. Jackson then ran next door and began banging on the door. « He’s like, ‘Danny neighbor, help!’ And he grabs my wrist, and he’s pulling me to the door, » his grandma Danette Lopez later recalled. Thankfully, the three-year-old knew what he needed to do next. « I’m thinking he’s playing, because nothing like that had ever happened, » however, Jackson, of course, wasn’t playing. Her neighbor needed help immediately.
Danette then remembered that her neighbor hadn’t been well earlier in the week, and what’s more, that morning, the neighbor had woken up feeling even worse. She’d subsequently tried to make her way downstairs to call for help, but as she reached her kitchen, things took a turn for the worse. What happened? The neighbor fell as she reached the kitchen, hitting her head in the process.
Still conscious, however, she managed to drag herself to the garage where she began shouting for help. And having spotted her lying bleeding on the floor, young Jackson had then alerted his mom. An ambulance subsequently arrived and took the neighbor to a nearby hospital where she was treated for severe dehydration. Thankfully, moreover, she made a rapid recovery and was soon back at home.
Unable to return to work, and it was all thanks to Jackson’s alertness. With her training as a nurse, Kelsey believed that it should have been her job to recognize when someone was in need of medical help. However, on this remarkable day, it was her three-year-old son who was hailed as a hero for his actions. As Danette explained, her neighbor was naturally very thankful for Jackson’s help. She’s saying that he’s her hero and she couldn’t have made it without him, » Danette told News 3. She’s been saying that’s her hero still.
As with all superheroes, the boy’s actions were selfless. He didn’t do it for praise or a reward. So when his mom took him to the toy store to pick out a treat to reward his heroic actions, Jackson was having none of it. Instead, he wanted to do something else for his neighbor. As three-year-old Jackson himself announced to News 3, « I got neighbor flowers. » Nonetheless, Jackson’s actions didn’t go unrewarded.
You see, Spin Master reached out to Kelsey to offer a special treat to the young hero. In fact, the game’s company arranged for the youngster to attend a live performance of his favorite TV show, Paw Patrol. What’s more, they provided him with his own door-to-door chauffeur from Gloucester, Virginia all the way to Washington, DC.
For those unfamiliar with Paw Patrol, it’s an animated kids show about a pack of dogs, each with a particular set of skills. The dogs take care of their community, Adventure Bay, by performing roles similar to those of real-life police officers and firefighters. Plus, each of them has a doghouse that transforms into a rescue vehicle. Kelsey believes, in fact, that it’s due to his love for the show that Jackson knew what to do that day when he saw his neighbor in trouble.
He switched to a rescue mindset that he’s picked up from the series. He recognized that the neighbor needed help and that he was the one who could get it. Yet, whatever inspired Jackson that day, Kelsey wants her son to realize how appreciated he is. As the proud mom told News 3, « I just want him to know that what he did was great, and I want to keep instilling that. Those are the things we should be teaching our kids. »
