SABATTUS – Her grandson Tony Galipeau’s grace under pressure provided 69-year-old Jackie Martin with some relief.

Martin fell on a recent afternoon and broke her left arm in three places, said Gina Galipeau, Tony’s mother, who resides on West Ridge Road.

After falling down in a bedroom, Martin could not move that arm, said police Officer Gilbert R. Turcotte. Martin crawled into the living room and called for her grandson. Ten-year-old Tony Galipeau raced to his grandmother before calling his parents at work, Turcotte said.

“Then the kid dialed 911,” he said, adding that Galipeau explained the situation to dispatchers and gave them very exact and precise directions to the residence before hanging up and comforting his grandmother. Galipeau also waited outside for the ambulance to show them where to go, Turcotte said.

“I think he’s a very quick-thinking individual who is mature beyond his age,” Turcotte said of Galipeau.

One ambulance driver commented on the precision of the directions Galipeau gave to dispatchers, Turcotte said. “I think the parents should be extremely proud,” he said.

And they are.

“The kid did not panic at all,” Turcotte said. “It would have been easy for him to panic.”

“We’re pretty proud of him,” Gina Galipeau said. “You always teach your children to call 911 if there’s an emergency. You never know if they really got it until the situation comes up. He pretty much knew what to do,” she added.

Jackie Martin agreed. “He was super,” she said. “He did not panic. I was very, very proud of him.”

Tony Galipeau said he felt somewhat nervous while he went about helping his grandmother. For his efforts, he received a letter of commendation signed by Police Chief Thomas Fales Sr.

So how did doing this good deed feel? “It felt really good to her help,” Galipeau said.

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