UPDATED January 12th, 2018
Moms are heroes by nature! How so? They are genetically predisposed to take care of and protect their offspring. This is due in great part to the kin selection theory, whereby mothers are wired to ensure that their genes are passed on to future generations. As tennis player Arthur Ashe said, “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” Mothers are biologically built to take care of others, ensuring safety and compassion as much as is humanly possible.
Here are 10 hero moms who inspired the world with their heroic acts!
1. Mom Tells Terrorist to Put Weapons Down
In May 2013, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, a 48-year old mom in London jumped off a bus and asked two armed terrorists to hand over their weapons after she realized they were responsible for the death of a soldier. Kids were being released from school at that time and Loyau-Kennett tried to stall by talking to the armed men. “I thought it was better having (their arms) aimed on one person like me rather than everybody there.”
Read Related: Hero Moms: Amazing Tales of Moms Protecting Their Young
2. Superstrength Moms Lift One-Ton Car to Save Child
In 2009, Donna McNamee and Abigail Sicolo lifted a one-ton car off the body of 8-year old Bailey Fowler when he was run over in front of their home in England. The two women heard screams and ran out thinking it may be one of their own children. When they saw the boy’s legs under the car, they didn’t think twice and bent down to lift the car. The boy sustained severe injuries but ultimately the two women saved his life and his parents were eternally grateful to the pair of Supermoms!
3. Hero Mom Loses Legs Saving Kids from Tornado
When a tornado came bearing down on her Indiana home in 2012, Stephanie Decker knew she had to act fast to save her kids. So she hustled them down to the basement, threw a comforter over them and shielded them with her own body. Decker’s actions saved her children, but at great cost to her. She lost both her legs when the house exploded from the tornado’s force and she was crushed under debris. Son Dominic was a hero too; he ran to a neighbor’s house to get help for his mom, who received immediate medical help.
4. Mom Save Kids from Burning Home
Rachel Flatt, a Spokane, Washington mom and wife of a firefighter never thought her husband’s training would lead her to a lifesaving feat. When the family home caught fire this February, she carried her three children out one by one, even though that meant fumbling through her dark, smoke-filled house. Her husband was on duty and actually called to the scene of the fire, only to learn of his wife’s heroic act. We guess it runs in the family!
5. Mom Treks Through Fog To Lead Rescuers to Plane Crash
Alaska mom Melanie Coffee set her own heartbreak aside to save others in need. She was one of 10 passengers on a small plane that crashed in the remote Alaskan tundra. Her 5-month-old son was one of four passengers who died from their injuries. Yet Coffee walked through slippery, pitch black tundra to reach a search party and lead them back to the crash site. Had it not been for her bravery, more lives would have been lost.
6. Mom Cop Chases Down Suspects After Being Shot in the Face and Chest
When Houston police officer and mom Ann Carrizales stopped a car late one night in 2013, the driver shot her in the face and chest. Yet she still managed to return fire, make it back to her squad car and give chase. One suspect was nabbed right away, and two more days afterwards. She later told Today: “I am a mom and they shot me and they were absolutely not going to get away with that, because I will do everything I can to come home to my children every day.”
7. Chinese Mom Saved 30 Children Found Dumped in the Trash
Lou Xiaoying, who died in 2012 at the age of 88, was a quiet hero in her native China. Starting in 1972, she began rescuing newborn babies abandoned as a result of China’s restrictive one-child-only policy. The babies were all left to die in a trash dump near her home. She saved every baby she came across, nursed them to health and raised them herself or adopted them out to friends and other family. She rescued her 30th baby when she was already 82 years old.
8. Sandy Hook Principal Dies Saving Countless Students and Teachers
We’re all familiar with the heartbreaking heroism of Dawn Hochsprung, the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, site of the horrific 2012 shooting. Hochsprung, a wife, mom, stepmom and grandmother, charged gunman Adam Lanza and managed to warn others. In the process, she lost her own life and saved countless others.
9. Oklahoma Mom Refused Chemo to Save Her Unborn Child
When Stacie Crimm learned she was pregnant in 2011, she was overjoyed. But when Crimm developed cancer early in her pregnancy, she made a decision that would cost her life—and save her baby’s. Crimm refused chemotherapy and became progressively sicker during her pregnancy. Baby Dottie was born at just 5 months, and Crimm was able to cradle her baby in her arms only once. She died three days after Dottie was born.
10. Infant Gets Life Saving CPR on Miami Highway
Pamela Rauseo was driving on a Miami highway with her 5 month-old nephew, Sebastian in the car. When she noticed Sebastian had stopped breathing, she immediately pulled over, pulled him out of the car and screamed and waved for help. As passersby gathered to assist, Rauseo started administering CPR to her nephew, and kept him alive until paramedics could take over.