Illinois Girl’s Hypersensitive Hearing Saves Neighbor’s Life

Awesome job by Kasey Brislane, a 13-year-old Girl Scout Cadette who received the organization’s Medal of Honor on Sunday. The national award is given to Girl Scouts who save another’s life.

And that's exactly what Kasey did, according to the neighbor she saved, 68 year old Susi Schubert. Kasey and neighbor Susi live in Harwood Heights, and if you recall January of this year, you'll remember how cold and icy it was here in Northern Illinois.

Kasey was at home watching TV when she thought that she heard, very faintly, someone screaming for help. So, Kasey went outside to see if she could determine where the pleas for assistance were coming from.

To illustrate the differences between my kids and Kasey, there could be a tank battle going on in the street in front of my house combined with a Blue Angels flyover, but the volume of the TV (how loud does "90 Day Fiance" really need to be?) they're watching would easily drown it out. I've spent five minutes completely unnoticed and unheard in the same room talking to them on many occasions. But, I digress...

The calls for help were from Susi next door, who had fallen in her driveway, broken her arm, twisted her legs, and was lying underneath a car with her face against the tailpipe. Kasey called for help, and waited with her neighbor for it to arrive.

Associated Press (AP):

Schubert said that when the paramedics arrived, she was so cold they couldn’t give her medication through an IV until she warmed up.

“Kasey wouldn’t leave my side. That little girl, I’m telling you, she’s my guardian angel,” Schubert said. “She saved me, she really did, or I’d have probably still been out there until I froze. Nobody heard me except Kasey.”

It turns out that this incident was lucky for both women. Susi is lucky that Kasey heard her, came to investigate, and called for help. Kasey, who was diagnosed with autism last year and was embarrassed by the diagnosis, has come around to accept it. Not only accept it, but to show pride in what her autism-connected hyper-sensitive hearing led her to accomplish.

Here's her take on it, and I think it's a great way of looking at things:

I finally feel like I did something that people are going to remember when I die. People are going to say, that was the girl that saved someone’s life because of her autism. I want people to know that autism is more than just "Rain Man."