After helping his classmate while she was suffering from an asthma attack, a 15-year-old boy couldn’t believe that his act of kindness could be the reason for his suspension from school.
Anthony Ruelas, 15, said his eighth-grade classmate was wheezing and gagging for three minutes Tuesday morning while no one did anything. But when Anthony did do something, he apparently broke the rules.
While the girl was suffering from the attack the teacher told the other students to stay seated and calm while she waited for further instructions, but seeing the grave nature of the incident, Anthony refused to sit there and let his classmate suffer. Unfortunately, his heroism led to a two-day suspension and left his mother with more questions than answers.
“I was like, ‘What? I’m suspended for this?’” the brave Gateway Middle School student recalled. “Like, I was trying to help her.”
Ruelas carried his friend to the nurse’s station at the school to save her life. His teacher had given specific instructions to stay put, but Ruelas made a decision to do otherwise. By ignoring his teacher’s instruction, he did what he thought was best by helping his friend.
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Apparently, since the teacher didn’t have enough sense to help the girl, who could barely breathe, Anthony got out of his chair and carried her down to the nurse’s office for help. However, rather than applaud Anthony for his heroic acts, the teacher wrote him up for insubordination.
When Ruelas found out he was going to be punished to such an extent, he was shocked. He did not believe that the school would suspend him for helping a girl who was struggling to breathe. Cortes, Ruelas’ mother, was disgusted as well.
“He may not follow instructions all the time, but he does have a great heart,” said Mandy Cortes, Anthony’s mother.
“I broke rules,” Anthony said. “But she needed help. Like, she needed help.”
His mom added, “I don’t … think he should have used that language. But as far as getting suspended for walking out of class, he could have saved her life.”
Cortes decided that she would rather home school her son than send him back to Gateway Middle School again. Though, an asthmatic student texted Anthony to thank him on Wednesday and let him know she was OK.
Sources: Sharesploison, USA Today, Yahoo News, Love this Pic
