By Craig Widdifield
SIM Midland Mirror
SIMCOE COUNTY, Canada — For 12-year-old Sebastian Cook, it wasn’t the free lunch, meeting the warden of Simcoe County, being presented with his own stethoscope or getting to wear a cool uniform that made last Tuesday great. His favourite part of being a paramedic for a day was the actual work.
That’s not surprising given the essay he wrote about why he wants to be a paramedic when he grows up.
“It is a great importance to become a paramedic for I believe when you save a life, you save their family,” the Grade 6 Tottenham Public School student wrote.
The essay won Sebastian a chance to experience exactly what that’s like. He donned a specially made uniform and climbed into an ambulance as winner of the Simcoe County Paramedic Association’s (SCPA) annual Paramedic for a Day essay competition.
The association holds the contest each year as part of National EMS Week, which runs May 16-22. Sebastian’s essay was selected from close to 100 entries from public school students across the county.
The day started early for the young student, with paramedics Janel Perron and Art Nolan picking him up in an ambulance. From there, they headed to the County of Simcoe offices in Midhurst, where Sebastian was presented with his own stethoscope and a plaque to commemorate the day.
Then it was over to Barrie for a tour of the Georgian Central Ambulance Call Centre, followed by lunch with his paramedic partners.
But Sebastian said his favourite part of the experience was when he responded to a call from the Alliston ambulance station. The paramedics had set up a mock accident at an Alliston home. The call came in for a 35-year-old woman who had fallen from a ladder outside her home. Her symptoms included a leg injury and neck and back pain.
Sebastian helped unload the gurney and backboard, and stabilized the victim’s head while the paramedics slid a backboard under her.
From there, they transported her to the emergency room at Alliston’s Stevenson Memorial Hospital. Sebastian got a tour and a briefing on what happens when patients arrive.
Outside the ER, as Sebastian peeled off his purple latex gloves, he explained more about why he wants to be a paramedic.
“When you save a life, you save the life of a husband, a wife, a parent, a son,” he said.
While wiping down the equipment with antibacterial cloths, Sebastian said what surprised him most about being a paramedic is that there’s a lot more work than just responding to calls.
Nolan and Perron explained the importance of keeping everything they use clean and sterile, noting they can often be found ripping everything out of the inside of an ambulance and giving all the equipment a thorough cleaning.
Sebastian said he could live without that part of the job.
The Simcoe County Paramedics Association is holding other events to mark EMS Week. An information and demonstration session is scheduled to run all day at the Georgian Mall in Barrie on May 19 and 20. Paramedics will be on hand giving out medical-information vials for the Vials of Life program and selling SCPA calendars. They will also be taking buccal swabs for the bone-marrow registry.
For more information about the SCPA and its programs and activities, visit www.simcoecountyparamedic.ca.
Copyright 2010 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.