The Eliot Police Department in Maine is crediting a 6 year old girl for her swift thinking and keen awareness when her father, 37-year-old Kyle Semrau, collapsed from a medical event that caused him to drift in and out of consciousness. She opened his phone and searched the phone number for the police, called the business line and relayed the pertinent information to Judy Smith, the department’s administrative assistant.
Semrau explained that the incident involved issues with his sinuses, which led to difficulty breathing and remaining conscious. Transported to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, Semrau required four liters of oxygen and spent three days recuperating in the hospital.
Police Chief Elliot Moya said she and her brother tended to their father in the basement. Moya said that as Caleb consoled his father, Macie grabbed her father’s phone. When Semrau temporarily regained consciousness before fading back to black, Macie had him recite his phone passcode so she could unlock the device.
Macie Googled the police department and got a hold of Smith. According to the chief, Smith, a former dispatcher with Sanford’s police agency, was floored by Macie’s decision-making.
“She was like, She knew everything. She was amazing,” Moya recalled Smith commenting to him about the 6-year-old. “Macie potentially saved a life.”
Macie perked up and flashed a smile when Moya presented her with a gift for her actions — a gift card to Lickee’s and Chewy’s Candies and Creamery, a Dover favorite.
Her ice cream flavor of choice is chocolate, and while her brother commented that he enjoys all ice cream, Macie knew his preferred taste.
“I know his favorite ice cream is vanilla,” she said.