Who says movies don’t teach you anything? The BBC reports that a young boy from Michigan remembered what he had watched movie star Dwayne “ The Rock ” Johnson do in San Andreas , the young man’s favorite movie, and saved his younger brother’s life.
Jacob O’Conner, 10, from Roseville, Michigan, was at home when he saw his 2-year-old brother, Dylan, floating face down in the family’s pool. Instead of rushing off for help, which may have come far too late, Jacob thought quickly and decided he had to save his brother. Asked how he knew he had to do something, Jacob was forthcoming about his love of film.
“In most movies, that’s what they do. They try to save the person first, and if it’s not working, they go get someone.”
Jacob pulled young Dylan from the pool and thought back to his favorite movie, 2015’s disaster film San Andreas, and what he’d seen star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson do. He says that he “remembered it from the part in the movie where there was an earthquake, then there was a tsunami, and the girl was drowning.” In the film, Mr. Johnson’s character uses CPR to attempt to save his dying daughter. Jacob recalled how the compressions were done in the film and successfully performed CPR on his younger brother.
Dylan was rushed to the hospital and made a full recovery.
Luckily, Dwayne Johnson performed CPR the correct way in the film, in spite of Hollywood’s lack of accuracy when depicting medical procedures in movies . The wrestler-turned-actor had kind and humble words for Jacob, who he described as a “real-life hero.”
Wow amazing story. Giving you a Twitter ?? Jacob for saving your little brother’s life. You’re a real life hero. We’re all proud of you! DJ https://t.co/M34d2NIYIy
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 24, 2017
Jacob’s mother, Christa O’Connor, said that she was at a “loss for words” and that she was immensely proud of her son. According to mom, Jacob hasn’t let all the praise and talk of heroism go to his head. Jacob says that it was “the natural thing to do.”
According to the BBC , the boys, including their middle brother, Gavin, were being looked after by their grandmother while their parents were out, and the wily toddler Dylan managed to escape out the door unnoticed.
Thankfully, Dylan suffered no permanent damage, and after a two day stay at the hospital, returned home as happy as ever. Christa says it’s “like it never happened.”
For his part, Johnson has had a good run recently. Recently named as the second-highest paid actor on TV due to his work on HBO’s Ballers , Mr. Johnson has also been pressured by fans to take a stab at the presidency .
All in all, life is good for real-life-hero Jacob, and his silver-screen-hero, Dwayne.
[Featured Image by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images]