Had it been any other Wednesday, Jawan Davis would have gone to summer camp, watched some television and maybe shot some hoops.
But on this Wednesday, the 6-year-old spent the day saving his mother’s life.
Jawan, his two younger siblings and his mother, Nicole Erving, were preparing to leave their Calumet City home Wednesday morning when Erving declared, “I’m sick,” and collapsed on the floor.
In a move that Calumet City police and fire officials called heroic and impressive, Jawan then picked up a cell phone, dialed 911 and directed emergency officials to the family’s home, giving them detailed information about Erving’s condition, all while remaining calm himself.
“For that age that’s pretty remarkable,” said Fire Chief William Galgan.
Brenda West, one of the 911 dispatchers who handled the call, said Jawan was as cool as they come. “If we could get all of our 911 callers to sound like him we would be much happier,” she said.
Because he was dialing from a cell phone, Jawan’s call was first routed to Illinois State Police dispatchers, who were unsure of the boy’s exact location. When Jawan told them where he lived, the call was transferred to Calumet City, where dispatchers got the boy to describe his mother’s condition.
“Do you see Mommy’s belly go up and down?” a dispatcher asked, according to a recording of the 911 call.
“No,” Jawan replied in a soft and steady voice.
“Are her eyes open?”
“No,” he said again.
A dispatcher then asked Jawan to try stirring his mother by tapping her. Seconds later, he reported back with discouraging news: “She moved when I shake her, but she won’t wake up.”
Paramedics transported Erving to St. Margaret Mercy Health Care Center in Hammond, Ind., where she was released hours later.
Family members said Wednesday afternoon that, because of an infection, Erving had suffered inflammation in her lungs, causing her to pass out. By Wednesday evening, she was headed toward a full recovery, resting at home, said her husband, Jamaine Williams.
As if life and death were not enough trauma for one day, Jawan later calmly stared down three television cameras and a handful of reporters at an afternoon news conference, where he wore long shorts, a polo shirt and a badge that declared him a “junior police” officer.
“No,” he wasn’t scared when his mom passed out, he said. “Yes,” his mom had taught him to dial 911, he said, sticking to the one-word answers that had served him so well earlier in the day.
He did however elaborate–and with some disappointment–about how when his mother left in the ambulance, he missed out on the wild ride and all those flashing lights.
“I stayed and the police took me to the station,” said the 1st grader, staring at his shoes.
Galgan, however, did not let such a slight pass, and at Calumet City Fire Station No. 2, Jawan spent the better part of an hour climbing in and out of firetrucks and pulling the air horn in the ambulances.
“He can stay here as long as he wants,” Galgan said.
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jageorge@tribune.com
