LMS
05-18-2006, 12:30 AM
Springfield (KMTR) - A nine-year-old boy stepped in, and likely saved his two year old cousin’s life after she was accidentally run over by a lawn mower.
The young Springfield girl is recovering in a Portland hospital after her left leg was severed in the accident.
The accident happened Wednesday night, in a neighborhood in west Springfield. It could have been much worse if it weren't for quick-thinking cousin Kevin McCoy. He stayed calm. He took action and helped save young Isabelle Norton’s life.
“Kevin thought of a couple of key factors in how to stop the bleeding. He took control of the situation,” said Kevin’s father, Robert McCoy.
The incident began like a lot of evenings this time of year; Dad mowing the lawn; the kids wanting to help, or just wanting to be near. What happened next police call a tragic accident.
When Isabelle’s father reached the fence on his riding mower he put it in reverse. He didn't see his daughter standing behind the mower. Isabelle's leg was caught underneath. It was a chilling scene that sent her father into shock.
But it sent her nine year old cousin Kevin into action.
At first he tried to lift the mower off Isabelle himself, but it was too heavy. What he did next likely saved her life.
“He grabbed some clean towels to put where the bleeding was. He ran and grabbed a chord for a tourniquet. He tried to do the tourniquet himself and couldn't do it,” said Kevin’s father Robert.
A next door neighbor jumped the fence and helped Kevin tie the tourniquet.
Kevin just takes my breath away with what he did. I'm just glad he was there for her,” Robert says.
The family agrees without Kevin’s quick thinking Isabelle easily could have bled to death before the ambulance could get there.
Instead, she's recovering at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. They had to amputate more of her leg, but she is going to make it, they say.
Phil Johnson, M.D., an emergency room doctor at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene has seen plenty of injuries from lawn mowers. He says the most common involve hands and feet, but the most severe injuries usually involve children. He suggests keep kids away from mowers altogether.
Thursday, Isabelle Norton’s mother said her daughter was doing well. She was battling a fever and still faces several surgeries, but she is expected to be okay. The family has set up an account where community members can make donations toward Isabelle’s medical bills. Any branch of Pacific Continental Bank will accept donations in the name of Isabelle Norton.
http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=8a956435-a7f7-4f4a-adfe-58d605200767&rss=191
The young Springfield girl is recovering in a Portland hospital after her left leg was severed in the accident.
The accident happened Wednesday night, in a neighborhood in west Springfield. It could have been much worse if it weren't for quick-thinking cousin Kevin McCoy. He stayed calm. He took action and helped save young Isabelle Norton’s life.
“Kevin thought of a couple of key factors in how to stop the bleeding. He took control of the situation,” said Kevin’s father, Robert McCoy.
The incident began like a lot of evenings this time of year; Dad mowing the lawn; the kids wanting to help, or just wanting to be near. What happened next police call a tragic accident.
When Isabelle’s father reached the fence on his riding mower he put it in reverse. He didn't see his daughter standing behind the mower. Isabelle's leg was caught underneath. It was a chilling scene that sent her father into shock.
But it sent her nine year old cousin Kevin into action.
At first he tried to lift the mower off Isabelle himself, but it was too heavy. What he did next likely saved her life.
“He grabbed some clean towels to put where the bleeding was. He ran and grabbed a chord for a tourniquet. He tried to do the tourniquet himself and couldn't do it,” said Kevin’s father Robert.
A next door neighbor jumped the fence and helped Kevin tie the tourniquet.
Kevin just takes my breath away with what he did. I'm just glad he was there for her,” Robert says.
The family agrees without Kevin’s quick thinking Isabelle easily could have bled to death before the ambulance could get there.
Instead, she's recovering at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. They had to amputate more of her leg, but she is going to make it, they say.
Phil Johnson, M.D., an emergency room doctor at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene has seen plenty of injuries from lawn mowers. He says the most common involve hands and feet, but the most severe injuries usually involve children. He suggests keep kids away from mowers altogether.
Thursday, Isabelle Norton’s mother said her daughter was doing well. She was battling a fever and still faces several surgeries, but she is expected to be okay. The family has set up an account where community members can make donations toward Isabelle’s medical bills. Any branch of Pacific Continental Bank will accept donations in the name of Isabelle Norton.
http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=8a956435-a7f7-4f4a-adfe-58d605200767&rss=191