VIDEO – Bus Monitor Praised for Helping Child Experiencing Seizure: ‘It Meant Everything’

The family of a boy in New Bedford, Rhode Island, who experienced a seizure is thankful for the bus monitor who stepped in to help.

Cassie Fortin’s nine-year-old son, Haydyn, is non-verbal, autistic, and also has epilepsy, so when he did not immediately get off the bus after it stopped outside their home, she knew something was wrong, WPRI reported Friday.

Epilepsy is described as a neurological disorder in which a person’s brain activity becomes abnormal, resulting in seizures and other symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“Seizure symptoms can vary widely. Some people with epilepsy simply stare blankly for a few seconds during a seizure, while others repeatedly twitch their arms or legs,” the website said.

When Fortin’s husband went to find out what was going on, Fortin saw Alyssa Krebs, the bus monitor, help her husband carry the child off the bus to a safe area.

“They both had him under his arms and I just flew over there,” Fortin recalled. “I had to make sure he was breathing, that was my only priority.”

The other woman remained calm throughout the ordeal, she noted, adding, “She doesn’t know how much she helped us in that moment.”

In a post April 1 on what appeared to be her Facebook page, Fortin relayed the story and thanked the bus monitor for helping them carry her son to a flat surface nearby.

“I could tell she was really scared, but I want her to know she did well and we appreciate her help and patients [sic],” she wrote:

Seizures never surprise Haydyn because he has apparently had over 400; however, they are still difficult to experience.

“I’m so thankful for her because that could have been so much worse,” Fortin commented. “It meant everything. … I can remember when Haydyn had his first seizure and I can remember how scared I was, so I can imagine how that felt for her.”