Gracie Fredericksen's dad could have died when his heartbeat dropped alarmingly low and he collapsed onto the floor Friday, but the 10-year-old's quick thinking saved the day.
The Texas girl is often described as shy and quiet but she showed her brave side when she sprang into action after her father, Jeff Fredericksen, crumpled to the floor while arranging furniture in her room, KHOU reported.
"Whenever he fell he kind of was holding his hand and was bleeding so I kind of thought that was serious and I looked for his phone," Gracie Fredericksen said. "I needed to call somebody so they could come and help him and get him somewhere."
The young girl's phone was not charged and she could not find Jeff Fredericksen's phone, so she used her younger brother's iPod Touch to Facetime her mom, who then dialed her father’s phone so Gracie Fredericksen could locate it and call 911, Fox News said.
It was not long before emergency officials arrived at the house and found Jeff Fredericksen slumped over the couch.
"The ambulance showed up and cops showed up and I opened the door and they just said 'Where is he?' and then they walked to him and started helping," Gracie Fredericksen said, per KHOU.
Her mother, Kelly Fredericksen, recounted the ordeal in a post to Facebook.
"He couldn't see and only remembers them yelling at him to 'stay with me,'" she said.
Doctors later said they believed that Jeff Fredericksen's blood pressure medication had caused his heart rate to drop drastically low.
He is now on the road to recovery in hospital.
Kelly Fredericksen said in her post to Facebook that her daughter "has been so strong and was so heroic Friday" but "has since been having emotional times and having a hard time leaving the hospital."
She added that Jeff Fredericksen was alive because her daughter had acted fast.
"He might not have woken up from it had she not been there and seen it and acted as fast as she did," she said, according to KHOU.
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