Nanaimo resident was shaken awake at 3 a.m. by a scared 12-year-old ringing the bell. She was his last hope

It feels creepy to have your doorbell ringing in the middle of the night. Before you know it, your heart starts racing fast, jolted into thoughts of an old horror movie, right? Well, Amy Pye, a Nanaimo resident, experienced something very similar when she first heard someone ringing her doorbell at 3 o'clock in the morning. Expecting no one so early, she immediately checked her doorbell camera and found a 12-year-old boy knocking on her door, seeming more frightened than she was. What unfolded next left her silently thanking herself for answering the bell, CHEK News reported on June 3, 2026.

Plea for help 

When Pye looked into the surveillance footage, she saw a “frightened young boy” standing outside her door pleading for her to help his dad. “I’m thankful I was home; I’m thankful I answered,” Pye told the outlet. The 12-year-old boy had tried knocking on the doors of three other houses, but after receiving no response, Pye was his last hope. “He was so brave to go door to door to get help for his Dad. He saved his Dad,” said Pye, who’s also a former Navy reservist.

The life-saving move

When Pye rushed with the young boy to his apartment, they found the boy's dad “unresponsive, face down in the bathroom.” Seeing his condition, Pye immediately called 911, and an operator asked her to do CPR and chest compressions until an ambulance arrived. Pye continued chest compressions for 15 minutes, ultimately reviving the man. Tina Hein, a first-aid trainer from Nanaimo, reflected that CPR is exhausting work. Oftentimes, people can manage it for at most two minutes, but Pye did it for ten. “So not only did she do something with incredible integrity, but she used all of her energy. Ten minutes is a long time,” Hein explained, praising the Good Samaritan.

As the ambulance arrived, the man was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors confirmed that he had suffered a heart attack. However, as per media reports, he survived and is currently recovering. Meanwhile, the incident prompted Pye, the woman who saved him, to take a first-aid course later this month, and she recommends others do the same. “I like to think my daughter was in. Somebody would be there to do the same,” she said, with tears in her eyes.

Why is CPR training so important?

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds in the United States. In fact, about 1 in 5 heart attacks are silent killers, and so early action is important to save lives. But as shared in the International Journal of Emergency Medicine, a survey of 555 residents revealed that over half (58.2%) of people lack formal CPR training. Like Pye, researchers worldwide also urge people to increase their first-aid awareness so they can also provide bystander assistance in times of need.

'She is a hero,' say netizens

Meanwhile, the story of the 12-year-old boy and Pye received much praise and surprise from online viewers. For instance, @harmyjim2 commented, "The young child probably has a brain/mindset of a genius." Similarly, @cheshcat6321 remarked, “Kid and his father were very lucky. I don't answer the door at 3 in the morning or get led down the street at 3 in the morning and go into a house I don't know. Yes, that was a very brave woman, but you can't be surprised that a lot of people won't give you the time of day because it's a dangerous world. One in five people choose to answer their door for a happy ending."

More on Scoop Upworthy

Nurse saves man having heart attack at airport after noticing his 'snoring and breathing'

Teen's quick thinking when school bus driver lost consciousness after heart attack avoids disaster

'Clever' cat saves owner by waking her up when she was having heart attack in her sleep