An observant 14-year-old from Gilbert, Arizona, is being praised for his heroic efforts after he found an elderly woman with dementia struggling in triple-digit heat. Royal Cothrun was riding his bike and wearing his Google Glasses when he saw 75-year-old Teresa Morgan struggling and wandering on a sidewalk.
Rather than keep on riding, Cothrun stopped to see if Morgan needed help. She did.
Cothrun’s observant and patient efforts to get her to a safe place have earned him praise and recognition both in his community and from strangers around the world.
Teen helps woman with dementia
Cothrun told ABC 15 Arizona that when he saw Morgan walking on the side of the road, she seemed lost, confused, and struggling in the heat.
“I don’t even know, she just looked like something was wrong, so I started talking to her,” he said.
He was wearing his Google Glasses when he found her, and was able to capture the moment on video.
“I don’t think there’s any apartments around here, I can tell you that,” he says to a bewildered Morgan on the Google Glasses footage. “Yeah I can look it up on my phone if you want me to?”
Morgan apparently became disoriented after going grocery shopping and had wandered miles from home when Cothrun discovered her. He guided her to a shaded place.
“I knew it was hot. She was sweating,” Cothrun told the news outlet.
A thankful family
After she was directed to a shaded place, Cothrun was able to help Morgan remember her son, Jeff Morgan’s, phone number.
“Maybe we can try to call him on my phone?” he says to her in the Google Glasses footage.
Cothrun called him, and Morgan’s son raced to their location. Paramedics soon arrived to make sure his mother was okay.
“It’s incredible, really, what he did,” Jeff Morgan told ABC 15 Arizona. “Just so lucky, so fortunate that he ran across her and he cared enough to stay with her and to take care of her.”
According to Morgan’s family, she had just had recently been diagnosed with dementia.
Earning recognition
His efforts led him to be recognized by the Gilbert Fire Department and the Air National Guard, as well as Congressman Andy Briggs.
His mom told the news outlet that she was proud of her son, but unsurprised he helped Morgan. She noted that helping people has always been a part of who her son is.
“He was calm, he was compassionate,” she said.
Gilbert Fire Department captain Ryan McHugh said, “The outcome could have been, would have been much, much worse had he not done what he did.”
Cothrun was widely praised online for his selflessness. Comments on a YouTube video posted by Local 12 KWRC and Rep Andy Briggs’ own X account include:
“There’s still hope for humanity when I see things like that it gives me faith.”
“In that heat she was in real danger. Thank God for that young man.”
“Such a kind child to notice and help. Empathy, and kindness! I hope for more of these stories.”
“Your son is a sweetheart! What a fine young man!”
“A kid with this level of awareness, competence and willingness to help is so rare, God bless this young man! I’m so glad this story had a happy ending. What a hero. Great job, Mom and Dad.”
“This brought me to tears with unbridled gratitude for his situational awareness and selflessness.”
