From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam. This is my unsung hero, stories where one person reached

out to another in a time of need.

My unsung hero story is from a doctor I heard over 30 years ago.

He's a son's a hero because he rarely got any recognition for his huge heart and his unselfish actions.

You mean the world to me and I can't thank you enough.

Today's story comes from Patricia Nisoff.

It was September 2006.

I'm a single mother, my three-year-old son was beside me. And then around midnight, my son had a

grand mal seizure. And I was immediately aware of his irregular movements and then the fact that he was unconscious.

Tried to rouse him, no success, called 911. The ambulance came within minutes.

At the time that we were living in Cambridge

and the community was quite close-knit.

So when everything pulled up, the ambulance and the fire engine,

everyone was out in the street,

looking worried and gesturing call me but I was so focused on my son I left the front door of the condo wide open and my keys my wallet my my phone. I left everything.

I just got into the ambulance.

Once we got to Children's, they immediately

settled us into a dimly lit room, and my son, still unconscious,

was whisked away for a cat scam.

And then I sat there and I thought, what am I going to do?

Without any money or the ability to call anybody for advice.

So I was feeling pretty alone.

...