Family says Goins calmly saved a life
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About two weeks ago, Nancy Goins, 62, suffered a heart blockage upon getting up early on a Sunday morning. She said her grandson’s actions helped to save her life.
“I woke up feeling really weird and I made my way to the bathroom and I couldn’t go any further,” Goins said. “Jeff was asleep but I called him to get up. I told him to call 911 and tell them, ‘Your grandma’s sick,’ so he did that. A lot of the questions they asked him, he knew the answers to.”
What makes the family proud is Goins’ age. At 7, he will enter second grade at Centertown Elementary, but family members said he remained calm at a delicate time.
Goins had open heart surgery last year and suffered a complete heart block this time around. She said she was declared clinically dead at a Nashville hospital after being transported by ambulance to the local hospital, where she was given a temporary pacemaker.
When the ambulance arrived, her heartbeat count was 20 beats a minute.
“I felt like I was going to pass out even though I was laying down,” she said of that morning with her grandson. “If I let go, I felt like my spirit would leave my body, but I guess I’m a fighter because I wouldn’t let go.”
A grandmother to several and great-grandmother to two, she said her grandson described symptoms to dispatchers, ran back and forth from the telephone to the bathroom to answer their questions and stayed on the telephone until an ambulance arrived.
Although her grandson usually stays with her on Saturday nights, Goins said she doubted he would come over that day because he had attended a cousins’ birthday party and ended up arriving late.
“If he hadn’t been here, neither would I,” she added. “He’s my little hero.”
Goins said when he was smaller, he didn’t know what an ambulance was, but has since been taught about calling 911 both inside and outside of school.
“I thought she was going to die,” he said. “I love her a lot.”
His grandmother is thankful.
“He did exactly what he should do,” Goins added. “The kid did not miss a lick.”
The call received a kudos from 911 Director Brandon Gable, who said after reviewing the call he was impressed with the youth’s demeanor.
“He did an exceptional job and did everything our telecommunicator told him to do,” Gable said, noting Goins appeared calm and controlled and listened to the dispatcher. “He used the system the way it’s supposed to be used.”
Aunt Kim Hodges said the family is equally thankful.
“I’m proud of him. I’m just glad he knew what to do. He’s our little hero.”
Gable commended the family and community for teaching.
“I feel his parents, the school, teachers – all of the above – should be commended for teaching him the correct way to use the system.”
He is the son of Jeff and Brenda Bess and Jeff Goins Sr.
PHOTO INFO:
Left, Jeffrey Goins Jr., 7, smiles as he demonstrates his actions more than two weeks ago, after he called 911 and was able to answer questions about his grandmother, including her age. 911 officials said Goins’ demeanor was exceptional. Above, Goins is pictured with his grandmother, Nancy Goins, who suffered a heart blockage July 14. Goins said she almost passed out, but called to her sleeping grandson in the early morning hours. Family members are touting the younger Goins as a hero for saving his grandmother’s life.