News and Information for the community served by Jackson Community Ambulance |
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News and Information |
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| JACKSON COMMUNITY AMBULANCE | August 24, 2004 |
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| A Nonprofit Community Service | ||||
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JCA awards 4 year old who saved her mom’s life | |||
L to R: Jeremy Nierenberger, Ericah Abbey, Robin Ewalt.
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Paramedic Jeremy
Nierenberger and EMT Robin Ewalt encountered a pleasant surprise on one of
their runs on August 2, 2004. Four year old Ericah Abbey had administered
glucagon by injection to her unconscious mom Rebecca and probably saved her
life. Ericah and Rebecca are both brittle diabetics. Rebecca recalls that
she knew her blood sugar was low and that she should eat something but
instead she sat down to rest. The next thing she remembers is the JCA crew
inside her home. Ericah states that when she couldn’t wake up her mom, she
immediately went for the glucagon while her grandfather called 9-1-1. When
the crew arrived, Rebecca’s blood sugar was 31, way below normal. Since she
had been given the glucagon, Rebecca was starting to respond. The crew
administered dextrose intravenously to continue raising Rebecca’s blood
sugar and she did not need to go to the hospital. Dan Abbey, Ericah’s father, said that he and Rebecca had never specifically taught Ericah how to administer glucagon, which is complicated because it requires reconstitution with saline and delivery in a muscle. “But she’s watched me give it to Rebecca many times,” Dan says. “So she must have learned from that.” On August 9, in honor of Ericah’s skill and maturity, Jackson Community Ambulance presented Ericah with a JCA Junior Paramedic Award. The certificate reads, “in recognition of your outstanding actions on August 2, 2004, when you recognized your mother’s condition and administered glucagon to her, most probably saving her life. You showed amazing calm, determination and skill under circumstances that would challenge most adults. Everyone at JCA thanks you for your lifesaving abilities.” Ericah also received a first aid kit, a water bottle, a t-shirt (she had already received a JCA bear) and a private tour of a JCA ambulance. A story about the event ran in the Jackson Citizen Patriot on August 12.
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