BUCKINGHAM — “Mom, please don’t die; we can’t do this by ourselves,” were the last words that Shenika Eldridge remembers her son uttering moments before she went unconscious.

There wouldn’t be a lack of words for her son, 5-year-old Quadir Minor, who, at that moment, remembered what to do in case of an emergency from a past assembly with members of the Buckingham Sheriff’s Department.

Eldridge had already called 911 for help, but her situation worsened quickly after she disconnected with the dispatcher.

Minor, a kindergartner at Buckingham Primary School, is now a community hero because of his actions to get his mother medical help, and has been recognized by his peers, teachers, family and the sheriff’s office.

Quadir was recently honored in front of his family and classmates at school with a certificate of heroism from the Buckingham Sheriff William G. “Billy” Kidd Jr., a Walmart gift card and a

Superman cake made for him by an employee of the Buckingham court system.

Prior to the presentation, Sandra Logan, an administrative assistant with the sheriff’s office, discussed Quadir’s bravery over the school’s public address system, filling the ears of every student, teacher and staff member with courage.

With her words echoing through the halls of the school, Logan said Eldridge was feeling faint and called 911 for help, but “after hanging up with the dispatcher, Mrs. Eldridge passed out and Quadir was unable to wake her up.”

Eldridge was also having trouble breathing, she said.

“After realizing that his mother was very, very sick and in serious trouble, he called his grandmother and told her what was happening. In return, his grandmother called 911 and advised the dispatcher that Mrs. Eldridge’s condition was worse …,” Logan said.

She said that because of his quickness, the rescue squad was given an update on her condition and she was upgraded to a priority call, which accelerated the squad’s response, saving her life.

“So, thanks to Quadir and his quick thinking and calmness in an emergency situation, his mother is here with us today and doing well. So for his lifesaving efforts, the Buckingham Sheriff’s Office and the Buckingham County Primary School faculty would like to sincerely thank Quadir for being our hero.”

He saved a life, she told the school.

Sheriff Kidd agreed, saying that Quadir saved his mother.

“I was getting him out of the bathtub,” Eldridge recalled, “and I was feeling just faint, dizzy. And after that, I just passed out and I just can’t remember anything after that.”

That’s when her hero arrived.

Sitting in his classroom in a small white chair surrounded by his family, Quadir said that he was on the couch at home “and I was looking at TV and then when my mom just walked out and my sister was there and then I just sat up and I looked at her face and then she just got sick,” he said in a slow, childlike manner.

When asked how it felt to be a hero, Quadir responded, “good,” smiling.

“Somebody told me when I was in the gym and people was talking to me, police, they were saying call 911 if someone’s in danger,” he said.

His uncle, Harry Eldridge Jr., said that many people, including adults, wouldn’t know how to react to such a situation because of shock and excitement. “Him having the courage and being smart enough and taught to do that … And now I’m looking at my sister now.”

Besides calling him her son, Eldridge said she could now call Quadir her hero.

The award was one of 52 good citizen and most improved citizen awards that the sheriff’s office bestowed to children in every classroom in kindergarten through third grade. The students received $20 gift cards and recognition by their peers.

One thousand dollars in donations was collected for the project.

According to Logan, the project is one of the department’s ways to get children to understand that being good, polite, respectful and helpful can pay off.