3-year-old ventures outside in the pitch black to save his great-grandma after scary fall

A lot of parents feel guilty about letting their kids watch TV. But a little bit of screentime isn't always a bad thing. There are shows with legitimate educational value like Ms. Rachel or Sesame Street. Educational programming can be an amazing way for kids to accelerate their learning of counting, the alphabet, and social behaviors.

In some rare cases, they can learn even more than that from their favorite TV shows: Like bravery and strength. Just take it from 3-year-old Bridger Peabody.

Bridger is just three years old but the toddler is already adding "hero" to his resume before he even starts preschool.

  Not all heroes wear capes; some wear blankies.  Giphy  

Bridger is a huge fan of the show Paw Patrol, which came in handy when an emergency took place while he was being babysat by his great-grandmother Sharon Lewis, 77.

The two were home alone when the unthinkable happened, "Gigi," which is what Bridger calls his grandma, suffered a terrifying and violent fall. Lewis uses a walker to get around and must've become unsteady on her feet while maneuvering the wheeled walker inside.

The pair were outside enjoying some playtime before everything went south. As they were making their way inside from playing in the backyard, Lewis fell—but it wasn't just a normal trip and fall. The great-grandma didn't land on her knees, bottom, or even her hands—which probably would caused enough damage. When Lewis fell, she forcefully hit her head on the cement steps and blood quickly rushed from her wound—but that wasn't the end of her problem.

The two were alone, and there was no one else around to help.

"I tripped over something and fell and hit my head on the concrete step," Lewis tells Inside Edition.

The elderly woman was unable to move and her cell phone was not with her. Since she was home alone with the toddler, she realized he was the only one there who could help her.

So, she instructed him to get her phone from her car. Bridger may be young, but he knew his grandmother was hurt and needed his help. There were a couple of stumbling blocks for Bridger to overcome, though, the first one being that the phone was in the car, not inside the house. The second was that the sun had set and the toddler is afraid of the dark. Venturing out into the darkness alone to get his great-grandma's cellphone was a monumental task for the little guy.

This is where Paw Patrol comes in. The show is popular with toddlers and preschoolers, and depicts cartoon dogs of different breeds donning uniforms from various help and service professions (firefighter, police, construction, etc.) to rescue different fictional animals. It shows kids the importance of bravery, team work, and kindness—which Bridger clearly picked up on.

The little guy knew that it was dark outside, but he also knew he needed to help his great-grandmother—so he braved the dark channeling his inner Paw Patrol character.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

The whole thing was captured on the Peabody's security camera and it's just as amazing and adorable as you would expect.

Bridger even gives himself a little pep talk as he navigates the nighttime darkness to retrieve the cell phone so Gigi can call 911. You can see Bridger holding his blankie in the night vision security camera as he walks to the car repeating, "Don't be afraid."

The boy opens the car door and excitedly exclaims, "YAY! I did it!" when he gets inside the car.

When the interior light turned on in the car, Bridger could clearly see the phone and was able to grab it and bring it back to his grandmother, allowing her to call 911.

The ambulance came to take Lewis to the hospital where she received 22 staples in her head. She's now home safely recovering all thanks to the bravery of her three-year-old great grandson.

Social media users couldn't get enough of the story of bravery, and it quickly went viral. Commenters chimed in with their admiration:

"Not all hero's wear capes, some of them hold blankies."

"Grandma's hope in Bridger overcame his fear! May they always be bonded, and continue to make lasting memories together!"

"him telling himself dont be scared is one of the cutest and bravest things i have seen that was special."

"Paw Patrol company needs to give that young warrior something special."

“Yay!! I did it!!” My heart melted. What an adorable little boy, and so strong. He saved his Gigi’s life that day. Bless him!!!"

Gigi is doing well and, with the media frenzy dying down, Bridger is returning to life as a normal 3-year-old. But he and his Gigi will be bonded for life over what happened, that much is for sure. The young man might have a bright future in helping others ahead of him with the bravery he's displayed so far in his short life.

This article originally appeared in March. It has been updated.