13-year-old credited with saving dad’s life

Clinton County has a new hero and he’s 13 year-old Justin Slone, who lives on the Huntersville Road.

His family, and especially his dad, Scott Slone, are grateful that the youngster is mature beyond his years.

In fact, Scott Slone is able to be with his son and family today because of Justin’s quick actions recently.

The chain of events began on Wednesday, September 23, when Scott Slone, who drives an oversize truck, was in Nashville, Tennessee on a run and had taken his son Justin along on the trip, in addition to Scott’s brother, Shane Slone, and a family friend, Gary Smith.

As he approached his destination, Scott, who is 41 years old, began to complain of chest pains.

On the return trip, Scott agreed, at the urging of his ride-along guests, to let his brother Shane Slone do the driving back to Albany, giving him the chance to lay down in the sleeper unit of the truck.

Keeping a close eye on his dad as the group left Nashville for a return to Albany, Justin saw his Dad fall over in the sleeper compartment while they were still in the Nashville vicinity.

That’s when the young man sprang into action.

Jumping into the truck sleeper, he quickly remembered some training that his mother, Brenda Slone, had given in teaching him how to administer Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, commonly referred to as CPR, and Justin immediately checked his dad for a pulse, and after determining that there wasn’t a pulse, began to go through the steps of applying chest compressions.

Brenda Slone, who is currently employed as a preschool aide, previously worked as a home care aide for several years.

When Shane Sloan was finally able to get the truck pulled off to the side of the highway, the group was able to get Scott out of the truck sleeper and laid him on the side of the highway, continuing to administer CPR.

With Shane switching to administer CPR to his brother, Justin made the 911 call that brought an ambulance and an EMT crew to the scene within eight minutes.

After transporting Scott to TriStar Summit Hospital, the EMT crew noted that he had “coded” at one point, but because of the quick action of young Justin Sloan, and later Shane Sloan, the worst was avoided and Scott was able to undergo a procedure that placed a stent inside of one of the main arteries supplying blood to the heart that was completely blocked.

Scott is currently at home, recuperating with his family.

The hospital staff at TriStar Summit was amazed, and gave young Justin the “hero” label, noting that his quick leap into action certainly saved his dad’s life, and with the amount of time between his first attack and the arrival of the EMT crew – more than eight minutes – he also likely was responsible for Scott’s recovery without suffering any brain damage.

So far, everyone who has heard the story since, has agreed – if anyone deserves the “hero” label, it’s young Justin Slone, who has proven that no matter how young or how small you might be, you can still make a life changing difference in people’s lives.