Non-verbal girl with cerebral palsy honored after saving baby brother's life

Lexie Comeau-Jackson [second from right] was honored after she saved her little brother's life. (Mayor Mike Savage’s office)

A nine-year-old Canadian girl who is non-verbal and has cerebral palsy was honored Tuesday after she helped save her baby brother from drowning.

Lexie Comeau-Jackson, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was dubbed a hero after she alerted her family when she saw her little brother, Leeland, fall into the backyard pool on May 5, CTV News reported. Lexie was watching her mother and grandmother prepare for her birthday party when Leeland woke up from his nap.

The girl’s mother, Kelly Jackson, went upstairs to prepare for the party while her mother, Nancy Comeau-Drisdelle, took the infant child downstairs.

“Mom brought him downstairs for me,” Jackson said. “We didn’t communicate about, oh the door isn’t locked.”

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Comeau-Drisdelle said she turned around for a few moments while Leeland opened the sliding door leading into the backyard. Lexie started screaming as she witnessed her brother walking outside.

"And the scary thing is that he opened the door and closed it behind him, and he had never opened that patio door before,” Jackson said.

Comeau-Drisdelle said she went to Lexie when she heard her screaming.

“She’s yelling and she’s pointing at the door, and I realize Leeland’s not with her,” Comeau-Drisdelle said.

“All of the sudden, I’m upstairs and I hear her screaming like bloody murder,” Jackson said. "We've never heard her scream like that."

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The grandmother ran to the backyard where she found Leeland in the pool.

“I took off outside and I’m not seeing him,” Comeau-Drisdelle said. “I ran, and he’s right by the edge [of the pool] and I took him out.”

The 18-month-old child coughed up some water and was transported to the hospital as a precaution but he was ok. Following the incident, the family installed a fence equipped with a locked door that goes to the pool.

Jackson recalled hugging and thanking her daughter for her help.

"I hugged her, I cried and I still thank her every day,” Jackson said. “Because honestly, in that matter, two seconds makes a huge difference."

Following the heroic act, Halifax Mayor Mike Savage and Councilor Tony Mancini honored Lexie Comeau-Jackson on Wednesday with a special award, Global News reported.

“The fact that she knew at such a young age that something was wrong, this wasn’t right and she is a hero. That story could have been so different. It makes us all happy and a little emotional at the same time,” Mancini said.