A late-night doorbell in Nanaimo turned into a lifesaving call for help, and Amy Pye says the person who deserves the praise is a 12-year-old boy who kept knocking until someone answered.

At 3 a.m. on Saturday, Pye was asleep when her doorbell rang. She checked her doorbell camera and saw a frightened young boy outside, pleading for someone to answer because his father needed help.

“He was so brave to go door to door to get help for his Dad,” Pye said. “He saved his Dad.”

The boy had already knocked on three other doors before he reached Pye’s home.

Pye followed him back to his house and found his father unresponsive and facedown in the bathroom.

“We sprint. Go into his house and his Dad’s unresponsive, facedown in the bathroom,” she said.

Pye, a former Navy reservist, called 911 and began CPR and chest compressions while following instructions from the emergency operator.

For 10 to 15 minutes, she kept performing compressions until paramedics arrived.

“Kept going, kept going, paramedics ran in,” Pye said. “One of them knelt down with me and said, ‘I’m taking over.'”

First-aid trainer Tina Hein said keeping up chest compressions for that long is difficult.

“It’s exhausting work and often times people can maybe manage two minutes and she went for 10,” Hein said. “So not only did she do something with incredible integrity, but she used all of her energy. Ten minutes is a long time.”

Hein said Pye’s response saved the man’s life.

“Sometimes an ambulance can’t get there in time. So that woman completely saved that man’s life. I’m so proud of her,” she said.

BC Ambulance said the man was taken to hospital in stable condition.

Pye later learned from his family that he had suffered a heart attack and is now recovering.

Read more from Sunny Skyz.