An all-terrain vehicle ride near their cabin in rural Red Cliff, Canada became a nightmare for Walter Small and his grandson Bradley Reid when the rear tire got caught and the ATV flipped over.

Small, 59, was able to free Bradley, who is six, from under the vehicle. However, he quickly realized that his own leg had been pinned. To make matters worse, gasoline was dripping into his fresh wound, making the pain unbearable.

The main road was too far away to send Bradley for help. As the day turned to night, Small felt himself fading away. But Bradley kept tapping his grandfather’s face, waking him and then telling him that he loved him.

“He kept telling me that 50,000 times in the woods, and that’s what kept me going,”  Small explained.

After an excruciating night, morning came, and the pair heard a truck rumble down a nearby dirt road. Bradley was able to find the road and flag the trucker, who immediately contacted an ambulance.

Small believes he had only a few more hours to live when he was rescued. He is now recovering from his injuries. As for Bradley, being a hero was pretty simple: “Yeah. I stayed by Poppy and I [told him I] love him and ‘Poppy, you’ll be OK,” the little boy explained.

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