Chris Miller knows a thing or two about bravery.

The 15-year-old has drawn on it every day since being diagnosed with autism at a young age.

He relied on it to recover from a debilitating stroke after doctors said he would lose the use of his limbs. And only a few months after a complete recovery from his stroke, he showed it when he saved his neighbour's life.

Chris is being praised for his quick thinking after he used a car jack to help free the neighbour, who became trapped under his car at home while doing some repairs.

The Grade 10 Cardinal Newman student from Stoney Creek — who dreams of being a mechanic and loves to work on motorbikes — had picked up the jack at a garage sale last summer on a whim.

Then, one evening in November at around 6:30 p.m., he "kept on hearing screams for help."

"I ran to the garage and opened up the side door, and saw that he was under the car."

The Millers' neighbour, 30-year-old Steve Bertrand, said he was putting a drive shaft into his Firebird. A mechanic with many years of experience, he found himself trapped when his jack suddenly gave out.

"I couldn't breathe," Bertrand said. "I had to lift up the car with my knees every time I tried to take a breath."

Without stopping to put on a coat, socks or shoes, Chris grabbed his garage-sale jack, ran over and quickly raised the car. Bertrand was then able to shimmy himself free, just as emergency crews arrived.

"I was at the side of the car when he wiggled out," said Bruce, Chris's grandfather. "And then he got out and he just hugged Christopher."

"I kissed him right on the mouth, I think," Bertrand said with a laugh. "He's a great kid."

Bertrand, who suffered internal bruises and fractured ribs, has recovered.

The rescue is even more remarkable considering that a few months earlier, doctors weren't sure whether Chris would live or die. His stroke was a side effect of Nephrotic Syndrome, a disease in which protein leaks from his kidneys, causing blood clots to form.

Eventually, one of those clots lodged in his brain.

"The doctor said he would be confined to a wheelchair for the balance of his life — if he came out of this," said his grandmother Linda, who lives in the Miller home along with Bruce and Chris's father, Mark.

Chris was in hospital for six weeks. Slowly but surely, he regained his strength and learned to walk again. The doctors said his excellent balance — which Chris relied on to master riding a unicycle several years ago — helped him quickly regain the ability to walk.

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Today, though Chris is still on a regime of medications and doctors' appointments, he's thriving at school and at home. He enjoys working on his bikes, playing guitar and tending to his menagerie of animals. This will soon include fish — he was busy setting up a new saltwater aquarium on the weekend.

"Through it all, he has never been depressed," his grandfather said. "He's just shown strength."