ORLANDO, Fla. Support for a restaurant manager in Orlando comes from all over the place after telling her story of how she helped save an abused boy.

Flavaine Carvalho said the past 24 hours had been overwhelming.

“People call me, text me, email me and show up at the restaurant I work for,” she said.

[RELATED: ‘Do you need help?’ Orlando restaurant manager uses secret sign to help rescue abused boy, police say]

She is the manager of the Mrs. Potato restaurant. She described herself as normally reluctant, but now she’s in the spotlight after Orlando Police credited her with saving the life of an 11-year-old boy.

Investigators said the victim’s family had dinner with Mrs. Potato on New Year’s Day. Carvalho said she shouldn’t have been working, but she was called.

She said the family arrived about to close.

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Carvalho said the boy’s parents did not order him any food. She said she also saw bruises on his face and arms.

She said she knew something was wrong and she had to do something.

“My only worry, and all that crossed my mind that day, was that I had to do something to help this boy because something was obviously wrong,” she said.

She said the family was sitting at the only table in the restaurant where they could write a secret note to show the boy without his parents seeing him.

“I’ll make a sign and ask if he’s okay. He nods and says yes. But he didn’t convince me, ”said Carvalho. “A few minutes later I wrote another sign and asked him if he needed help. He said yes. “

Carvalho called 911. Police arrived and arrested the boy’s stepfather, Timothy Wilson II. He was charged with third degree child abuse. Investigators said they couldn’t arrest either parent at the restaurant because there wasn’t enough evidence at the time.

Days later, authorities arrested both Wison and Kristen Swann. Wilson has been arrested multiple times for exacerbated child abuse and child neglect.

Police said the boy’s mother admitted knowing about the abuse. She was arrested for two reasons of child neglect

Since Carvalho told her story, people around the world have strived to thank her for her bravery.

The restaurant’s owner, Rafaela Cabede, launched a GoFundMe page that raised more than $ 13,000 on Friday afternoon.

“I’ve got so many calls, emails, and messages from wherever people wanted to donate and people wanted to kind of reward them,” Cabede said.

Carvalho said it wasn’t about donations or news. She said it’s about doing what any human would do.

“For me what I did was normal, natural, so I never thought about it,” said Carvalho. “I’m happy because the boy is safe now and I hope people use this fact to be brave when someone is in need.”

Police said a trust account had been set up to support the children involved in the abuse case.

Anyone interested in donating can do so at:

Cole, Scott and Kissane, PA Trust Account

c / o The Northern Trust Company

600 Brickell Avenue, Suite 2400

Miami, Florida 33131

Attn: Michael Villasana

For the benefit of the underage children of Wilson / Swann

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