http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/paramedic-and-emt-brave-icy-weather-help-injured-child_80374.mp3
February 4th was a snowy day in the Ozarks, and seven-year-old Kadynce Amaya decided to go sledding with her cousin in their hometown of Rogers, Arkansas. A day of fun ended with Kadynce losing control of her sled and running into a tree. When her mom, Kristina Courtney picked her up later that day, her daughter told her that her head hurt. So, Courtney took Kadynce to the emergency room at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas. She was surprised to learn that her daughter had a brain bleed.
"And they told us that she needed to be immediately transported to a different hospital," she said.
But the weather was awful that night—ice had fallen, then several inches of snow on top of that, and more sleet and freezing rain was coming down, so travel by air to Springfield was not an option. Dr. Shane Holland, emergency director at Mercy Northwest Arkansas, says it was “absolutely vital” that Kadynce be moved to a higher level of care where she could be evaluated and treated by a neuro surgeon. The only way they could transfer her was by ground.
"Because of the weather and because of the dangers of going even by ground and certain area transport services being somewhat locked in with the weather, we did have difficulty finding somebody to transport her," he said.
But emergency staff wouldn’t give up. They called Mercy Springfield’s Emergency Medical Services, and dispatchers there sent the nearest Mercy ambulance to pick up Kadynce. It was about 60 miles away in Green Forest. Paramedic Dillon Halper and EMT Jeff Webb didn’t hesitate to take the call. A drive that would normally take less than an hour took more than twice as long. When they arrived in Rogers, Dr. Holland says they received a warm welcome.
"Not being able to find somebody and then these guys going way out of their way and doing the right thing was amazing that they were able to make it down here and take her. The whole department was clapping and applauding and very excited that they made it down," he said.
Kadynce’s mom says she’s grateful that the two stepped in to help.
"Whenever they called Jeff and Dillon they said, you know, we'll take her anywhere she needs to go. They're amazing. I'm just so thankful for them. I'm just so blessed that they were there that night and they took the call and took that chance to take her," she said.
Courtney and others, including Dr. Holland, are calling Halper and Webb heroes. But Halper doesn’t see himself in that light.
"To me, it's just another day on the job. I don't necessarily call myself a hero or anything 'cause that's just part of doing our jobs. I mean, that's what we signed up to do," he said.
He’s been in emergency services for ten years. He decided to go into that line of work when a good friend died in a car accident.
"I came up right after it happened, and I felt extremely useless 'cause I had no training whatsoever, and I had no idea what to do," he said.
So, at 18, he joined the fire department, then went through EMT, fire and paramedic school. He says he can’t imagine doing anything else.
Once Kadynce arrived at Mercy Springfield, pediatric neurologist Dr. Sami Khoshyomn determined that the hemorrhage was small and that surgery might not be necessary. She was monitored closely for 24 hours and, after three days, got to go home.
Her mom says she is getting better every day and is excited about being able to be active again—she still has to take it easy.
Halper says most of the time they don’t get to learn the fate of those they’ve helped. He’s pleased to hear that Kadynce is doing well.
"Being able to hear through this story how she got the help she needed and how she turned out, it's been a change. It's very nice to be able to hear that," he said.
He says, no matter what time of day it is, no matter how dangerous it is, this is what he chose to do for a living, and he’ll never have an excuse not to help people.