Ishpeming boy saves Sunnyside senior citizen

ISHPEMING, Mich. (WLUC) - Most 10-year-olds can’t say they have ever saved a life.

Christopher Schaffer is also not like most 10-year-olds. Two weeks ago, he saved an elderly neighbor’s life after coming home from school.

Sunnyside Community Manager Dana Laporte explains how the day went.

“On this particular day, he goes to check on a neighbor’s mail every day and he had not been there in a couple of days,” said Laporte. “When he got off the bus and he was really concerned that something was wrong.”

Afterward, Laporte called in a well-being check on the elderly neighbor. When first responders arrived on the scene, they discovered her oxygen mask had fallen off her face. She was also barely breathing. Without Schaffer’s quick thinking, she would have died.

Schaffer’s mother, Tina Brewer, explains what this day felt like as a parent.

“Coming home from work and everybody was outside, and the ambulance was down by the house I’m like what the heck just happened,” said Brewer. “I stopped to talk to Dana and she’s like, ‘Your son save a life just saved a life.’ I am so proud of him for standing up when he believed something was wrong.”

The Impact Care organization was so impressed by the 10-year-old, it sent him a wooden plaque, along with a card and some cash as compensation. The 5th grader has a message of kindness for other young people.

“Be nice to people and treat them how you would like to be treated,” said Schaffer.

A random act of kindness like this, from such a young person, goes to show you just what kind of great people the city has. Schaffer also plays middle linebacker on his football team and has plans of one day going to trade school.