Like any third-grader, Matthew Sparr is fascinated with heroes. Never did the Peachtree City youngster figure he would become a hero in real life, but he did. And it happened while he was watching cartoons.

One morning last January, Matthew was sitting on his mother's bed. Cindy Sparr was asleep next to him when suddenly she suffered a medical emergency. Matthew remembered what his mom, a nurse, had told him about such situations: "She said, when stuff was happening, call 911."

The boy picked up the phone and punched in the three numbers. Emergency dispatcher Chris Nations was ready to help.

But still, Matthew wasn't convinced it was an emergency. Any moment now, he told himself, Mom is going
to wake up and say you don't need to call.

So before Nations could question him, Matthew hung up. But Nations had his number and immediately called back.

This time, the dispatcher was struck by Matthew's calm as he described what had happened to his mother.

Within minutes, paramedics were at the house giving oxygen to Cindy Sparr, and she recovered.

"I told him that he's my hero," Cindy Sparr said.

- This article is a reprint from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.