"For the last three years, I've really loved the opportunity I've had to be a paramedic for my local region and it has certainly put me in positions where I've had to think on my feet quickly and do things that I likely wouldn't have been comfortable doing before my training. Last year, we were called to an auto accident and when we arrived, one vehicle had slid down an embankment into a creek. Without hesitation, I slid down the brush and snow-filled embankment to the vehicle that was resting on its side in the creek. The driver was the sole occupant and was shaken up pretty badly from the accident. I worked carefully to remove her from the vehicle and patiently waited with her and treated her until a way was found to extract us both from the creek. Thinking instinctually like this is something I will always do as part of the Canadian Red Cross, even if I put myself in jeopardy like I did that day and needed to be treated for hypothermia myself."
