Writing Contests
Congratulations to the winners of our You Write It Contest in the December 12, 2011, issue. We couldn’t have written these articles better ourselves!
(Click here to read the You Write It interview that inspired these articles.)
Check out the winning entries below.
This Teen Could Save Your Life
Amelia A.
Jamestown, KY
“When someone calls 911, we hurry to the scene to transport sick or injured people to the hospital,” says a brave young girl named Erin. This 17-year-old rides around in an ambulance ready to save lives. That life she is ready to save could be yours. “I’ve helped people who have had seizures, strokes, accidents, broken bones, heart attacks, and more.” It might look strange at first, seeing a 17-year-old in the back of an ambulance ready to help, but once you know what she is capable of, it won’t be as strange.
When a patient dies, Erin says, “It’s hard. You feel sad, but you can’t get too worked up.” She has to keep focused on her next patient and how she can go on to help them. If she thinks about “what ifs” too much, she may lose focus. She has to keep her thoughts positive about helping the next person—or even saving their life.
You might think it’s great getting out of school early. Well, it’s not. It’s great to save a life no matter what time it is, but all of the work Erin misses in school has to be made up. “Leaving school isn’t as cool as it sounds,” she admits.
When asked what call really made an impact on Erin, she answered, “A rollover car accident in the middle of the night. The man had an open leg fracture with bone sticking out, and he was covered in glass.” I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I think that’s scary. I wouldn’t know what to do if I saw a bone sticking out of someone’s leg! Erin said, “It was the first time I fully realized the seriousness of what we do.”
Christina G.
Belton, TX
What do you expect if you call 911? Do you expect an ambulance? What about a fire truck? What about a 17-year-old girl? If someone calls 911, 17-year-old Erin Hannon from Darien, Connecticut, drives an ambulance to the scene and helps the victim. She works at Post 53, the only ambulance organization in the U.S. that is run by teenagers.
“I wanted a head start on a career in medicine,” Erin says. Her “head start” is going well so far. As of right now, Erin is the president of the organization. With this honor, she can do anything from driving the ambulance to helping the patient in the back.
People who work in ambulances are called emergency medical technicians, or EMTs. EMTs work with people who suffer from seizures, strokes, broken bones, heart attacks, and much more. They provide oxygen and medicine, and they are trained to do all kinds of things, including delivering a baby.
EMTs have to be on the job at all times, even during school. Erin says that the excitement of being called is indescribable. “On a big call, like a heart attack or a car accident, you get an adrenaline rush just being there and knowing you can help save a life.”
Unfortunately, sometimes, a patient doesn’t make it through. It’s always hard when someone dies. Erin says, “You feel sad, but you can’t get too worked up. You need to be focused on the next patient and not have self-doubts.”
Erin works extremely hard at her job. Being young isn’t always a benefit. Some patients are skeptical about Erin’s young age, and prefer someone older with more experience. That doesn’t stop Erin, though. It only makes her more determined, strong, and dedicated. “We realize that some people don’t feel comfortable with young EMTs, so we have very high expectations for ourselves,” she says.
Erin has really showed that teenagers can do much more than they might think. Being 17 and the president of a life-saving organization is such an accomplishment. Erin shows that age doesn’t matter if you really want to do something.
Maria H.
Clovis, NM
In her hometown of Darien, Connecticut, 17-year-old Erin Hannon is a girl who could quite literally save your life. She is an emergency medical technician (EMT), and president of Post 53. She works at Post 53 in order to get a head start on her future career in medicine. Erin knows how to treat everything from a broken bone to a heart attack. She even knows how to deliver a baby!
Erin loves her work because she knows she can save lives. Some of Erin’s patients are amazed by her age, and some are uncomfortable, but either way she gives them the best care and treatment she can possibly give. During a shift Erin could be called to help—even during school hours. “But leaving school isn’t as cool as it sounds,” says Erin, “you still have to make up the work!”
For a 17-year-old, Erin does her job with great care. She has always taken her job seriously, but has probably never taken it more seriously than the night she had to report to the scene of a rollover car accident. The accident victim was a man with an open leg wound with a bone sticking out. He was covered in glass. Erin recalls, “I got the IV bag and oxygen mask ready and helped strap him onto the backboard, which we use to stabilize a patient’s body. It was the first time I fully realized the seriousness of what we do.”
When asked how she copes with a patient dying, Erin said, “It’s hard. You feel sad, but you can’t get too worked up. You need to be focused on the next patient and not have self-doubts.”
Kids of all ages across America should be inspired by Erin, because it just goes to show that when you want to be good at something, you have to be brave, take a chance, and believe in your dreams.
Olivia S.
Sarasota, FL
Your loved one has just been in a car wreck, and as soon as you recover from shock, you rush to the scene. Once you are sure your friend is safe you glance at the driver of the ambulance. She’s a 17-year-old girl. That’s what might happen to you if you live in Darien, Connecticut. This girl, Erin, is one of the participants in the only ambulance service in the country operated by teenagers. The ambulance service is called Post 53. Erin wanted a head start in the medical field, and what better way than to be actually saving lives every day?
Erin is an EMT (emergency medical technician). Erin already has the normal stress of school, work, and peer pressure—imagine also having people’s lives in your hands! That’s a lot of pressure for a teenager.
Erin talks about the different procedures she has to perform on patients. She assists people with seizures, broken bones, heart attacks, and more. “I’m trained in providing oxygen or ventilations for patients who can’t breathe and medicine to patients who have allergic reactions,” Erin says.
Even in the middle of a school day, if she’s on shift, Erin storms out of the classroom and does her duty when there is a serious call, such as a heart attack or a car accident. Let’s hope there’s never a big call in the middle of a midterm! When she’s in the field, Erin says her adrenaline is always pumping just knowing that this person could be on the brink of death.
You would think it would be odd having a teenager controlling your oxygen tank or giving you CPR after an accident. Erin says that people are often uncomfortable with having such young EMTs. Many patients do not know if they can rely on or trust such young medics to handle the situation in front of them. Erin says that she and her companions realize this. Therefore, they are always certain to set high expectations for themselves. Scope asked Erin which call really stood out to her from all the others. She responded, “A rollover car accident in the middle of the night. The man had an open leg fracture with bone sticking out, and he was covered in glass. I got the IV bag and oxygen mask ready and helped strap him onto the backboard, which we use to stabilize a patient’s body. It was the first time I fully realized the seriousness of what we do.”
She says it’s hard when a patient dies, and of course she feels sad, but she needs to move on and stay focused on the next patient and not doubt herself.
People like Erin are true heroes, and we can only hope that she and the other wonderful teenagers working at Post 53 can continue doing what they’re doing. Young people like Erin need to be respected and acknowledged for taking on such a responsibility as teenagers.
Seth G.
Bloomington, IN
Can a teen drive an ambulance, be an emergency medical technician, help deliver babies, or even treat broken bones and more? Erin Hannon can, and she’s only 17 years old. Erin dedicates her time to Post 53, an ambulance organization run by teenagers. Some people think it’s crazy, but some people think it’s amazing.
When someone calls 911, Post 53 is sent to transport sick or injured people to the hospital. A job like this requires a lot of determination from all of the teens involved.
Sometimes Erin even gets calls when she’s in school. “But leaving school isn’t as cool as it sounds,” she warns, “You still have to make up the work.” She can get called any time, any place, and has to drop everything to go save a life. That could be very stressful and exhausting.
Erin can help people who have had strokes, seizures, broken bones, heart attacks, and more. She also provides oxygen to people who need it and medicine to patients who have allergic reactions. Erin is even trained to deliver babies! She is a very well-trained EMT.
Not everyone feels safe having a teen EMT, though. This group of teens must have very high expectations for themselves. One call where Erin rose to the occasion was one night when there was a rollover car accident. The man who was injured had an open leg fracture with bone sticking out. “I fully realized the seriousness of what we do,” Erin said.
