Last November, I was driving to the talent show at Wellesley High School where I was supposed to direct the technical aspects of the show. About halfway there, as I was passing a side street, a flash of movement caught my eye. Instinct told me that there was something wrong. I immediately pulled over, looked across a yard and saw a bike lying across the grill of a car and a boy sprawled on the hood. There was no time to think. I grabbed my Red Cross kit and ran to the aid of the boy. When I found no pulse, I picked him up, lay him on the ground face up and began to administer CPR. After several rounds, I found a pulse.

I shouted to the panic-stricken parents to call an ambulance. While we were waiting, I proceeded to bandage his arm and face. Through all of this, I kept his body still, so I wouldn't aggravate any possible injuries. The ambulance came; I gave them the vital signs and other medical information they required. The boy was rushed to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for emergency treatment.

There were a million things bouncing off my head at that moment: the talent show, my emergency treatment, my equipment, the boy's parents, the fact that I was covered with blood, and most of all, the condition of the boy. I threw my things in my case, spoke to the parents for a minute, and after exchanging names and addresses, rushed to the high school. As soon as I arrived and cleaned up, I set up the special effects for the show and gave the cast the countdown. During the performance, I totally blocked out the accident so that I could concentrate on the show. All things considered, the technical aspects of the show went well.

After the show, I went to the hospital to check on the boy's condition. His doctor told me that if I hadn't been on the scene, the boy would have died.

Until that moment, I hadn't had time to stop and think about what had happened. The emergency courses and Red Cross training I had taken were in preparation for a future career in the medical field, specifically, nursing. Now I see that the Emergency Medical Service training was not just for the future, it had determined whether this boy lived or died. n