LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana bus driver and bus monitor are honored for saving a child's life.
Leaders with Greater Clark County Schools said the pair took quick action to recognize that a child was having a medical emergency on the bus.
Just like any other normal day, bus driver Jill Sluder and bus monitor Kendra Coleman stopped to pick up a 7-year-old on the way to school last month.
"He was kind of shuffling his feet together, but not going anywhere. I said (to Sluder) do you see him, what is he doing?" Coleman said.
"To our knowledge, he didn't have any health issues," added Sluder.
After the boy boarded the bus, they started to notice that something was definitely off.
"He normally puts his own seatbelt on, and he was trying to click it and he just wasn't matching it up. I said let me help you, so I helped him put it on and he kept leaning towards me," said Coleman.
It's not strange for kids to be sleepy, but this was different.
"I'm like, something is wrong," said Coleman.
Sluder pulled over in a parked lot and called for an ambulance. The small bus was soon crowded with people trying to help the boy in distress.
"When they pricked his finger to test his blood, he jumped up and he was super scared, because all these people were around him," said Sluder. "Me and Miss Kendra were trying to tell him he's fine, he's okay."
It turns out, the boy was having a medical emergency. His blood sugar was over 500 — more than five times what's normal for an adult.
"It was heartbreaking to me, because I have been a diabetic for over 11 years and my numbers, at my age and my size, have never hit that high," said Coleman.
The boy went to the hospital and ended up being okay.
"He came back to school the next day and looked super great," said Sluder.
The pair that runs Bus #121 was awarded by the school district for saving the child's life.
"I thank God," said Coleman. "I give Him the glory for using me to see that something needed to be done."
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