A North Carolina fourth grader helps save her bus driver when she suffers a heart attack. In December, Rowan County school bus driver Rita Sturdivant woke up feeling ill, but didn’t let that stop her from doing the job she loves. “That morning when I got up, I did not feel like going to work,” she recalls, “But I went anyway.”
After finishing her first route and picking up a few students for her second run, the 72-year-old realized that she wasn’t going to be able to continue, so she pulled the bus over and turned on the hazard blinkers. She then called over the oldest and most responsible child on the bus, nine-year-old Rylie Miclette. Sturdivant had the student use her radio to call for help and when no one answered, she had Rylie use her cell phone to call the school and Sturdivant’s daughter.
Overton Elementary School principal Marae Reid and Sturdivant’s daughter arrived a few minutes later. Reid stayed with the students and Sturdivant was taken to the hospital, where they soon discovered she’d had a heart attack. The bus driver is now on the road to recovery and says she’s forever bonded to the student who helped save her life. “She did all she could for me, and I am so grateful to Rylie to this day,” she says. And Rylie feels the same way, saying, “I love Ms. Sturdivant, and I’m happy that I helped her.”
Source: My FOX 8 Piedmont Triad