By Jim Morrison
www.thesuburban.com
Fairview Shopping Center’s bus terminal was the scene of heroics Wednesday, March 4, as Samantha W, a 16-year-old special-needs student from The Summit School, St. Laurent, was saved from the front of a moving bus.
Cameron Stoute, a classmate with microcephaly, at the mall with his friends, witnessed the danger ahead, threw himself at her and pulled her to safety.
Slightly grazing her arm, the bus driver—shaken up from the incident—applauded the quick thinking of the young man.
“I reacted. Everything happened quickly, and am happy that my friend Samantha was ok,” Stoute told The Suburban.
“Cameron is my hero. He saved my life and I don’t know if I can ever repay him enough for it, and I want him to know that he is such a great friend and an amazing person,” said Samantha.
Microcephaly (my-kroh-SEF-uh-lee) is a rare neurological condition in which an infant’s head is significantly smaller than the heads of other children of the same age and sex. Sometimes detected at birth, microcephaly usually is the result of the brain developing abnormally in the womb or not growing as it should after birth.
“My disability doesn’t define me,” said a determined Stoute in looking back over the incident.
Summit School is a private school recognized and subsidized in the public interest by the Education Ministry. Founded in 1963, it is located in St. Laurent. It currently serves more than 520 special-needs students by creating an individualized and enriching environment.
The students range in age from 4-21, with intellectual disabilities including behavioural and emotional disturbances, autism, Down Syndrome and severe learning disabilities. They are referred by parents, school boards, hospitals, and social services agencies. The student body comes from every socio-economic, religious and cultural background.
More information about Summit School is available at www.summit-school.com
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