The very first thing Calvin Stein will say is that he’s not a hero. I disagree. Anyone who selflessly puts themselves in harm’s way to save the life of a 3-year-old child is a hero. Full Stop.
And that’s precisely what Calvin Stein did. He ended up with a broken orbital socket, a concussion and a ton of stitches for his troubles but all he says about that is “I can heal.”
In his own words, here’s what he as to say about all the fuss:
It just happened. It was an accident. I’m just glad I was there to save the kid.
Somebody called me a hero. But if you’re going to write anything, you can put this down: ‘I’m not a hero. The heroes are the men and women of our Canadian Forces, and the men and women of our police forces, and the men and women of our EMS. I’m just an average person that did what everybody should do. Look out for each other. That’s what I really believe.
Definitely hero material there, wouldn’t you agree?
Here’s more from an interview after he saved the little girl’s life:
It’s unfortunate. The team got away from a gentleman. I was standing at my trailer waiting for our turn in the ring. Anyway, the team came running and my instinct was to try to catch the team. I knew how to read them. I knew the direction they were going and I knew where they were headed.
I saw a father standing there with three kids talking to another teamster. He had one on either side of him and the other was standing beside the other guy on his righthand side. I ran as fast as I could screaming and everybody started to scatter. The father had ahold of two of them and the three-year-old was just standing there, oblivious to what was going on.
I just swooped the young lady up and I just basically — I knew they were close — I just threw her. I knew she’d bounce, she maybe’d break and arm or a leg. I guess that’s not what you’re supposed to do — throw kids — but I just threw her and the team mowed me over. I flipped and flopped and the rest is history. The young lady was taken to hospital — she’s fine, a few bumps and bruises, very fortunate.
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