CitrusPeel_October_SpreadUpdated

TROOP STORIES
19 20
RACHEL
SAVES A
LIFE!
Tiffany Handlon woke up early
on the morning of August 14
unable to breathe, feeling as if
her lung had collapsed. Tiffany
has suffered from asthma her
whole life and any number of
environmental triggers could
cause a flair up, but this time
felt different - it was worse.
Tiffany describes what
happened when she woke
up her 10-year old daughter,
Rachel,
“I was in no condition
to drive. I just felt
so uncomfortable.
I couldn’t sit. I
couldn’t stand. I was
sweating.” That’s
when they decided to
call 911.
Rachel has been a Girl Scout
since Kindergarten, and her
mom taught her early in life
what she should do in an
emergency. The Girl Scout
motto is to “Be Prepared” and
Rachel embodied this motto
with every action that morning
as she assessed her mother’s
condition, called 911, stayed
with Tiffany once she became
unconscious, observed
and remembered details of
the incident to report back
later, and answered all the
questions of the emergency
response operator. Later,
nurses hailed Rachel as a hero
for her calm demeanor.
Once Tiffany was in route to
the hospital via ambulance,
the police transported
Rachel to her grandmother’s
house. It took Tiffany’s mom
45 minutes to locate her
daughter, as the ICU was not
yet open for visitors at that
time of the morning. Tiffany
was still unresponsive at the
time and registered as a Jane
Doe. Rachel knew there was
nothing more she could do
now that her mother was in
the care of a professional
health care team, so she went
to school. She was motivated
to focus on school that day
to maintain her impressive
six-year record of perfect
attendance.
Tiffany was in the Intensive
Care Unit for a full day on a
breathing ventilator, where her
children were unable to visit.
After that first day, Rachel
and her little brother were
able to visit their mom in the
hospital for the three days
she stayed, before returning
home. Tiffany’s health is now
stabilized and she’s grateful
for her daughter’s lifesaving
actions. Rachel says her
advice for other girls who
might find themselves in an
emergency situation is “Stay
calm. If you panic, you might
have trouble talking to the
operator.”
In recognition of her heroic
lifesaving actions, Girl Scouts
of Citrus is nominating Rachel
for Girl Scouts of the USA’s
Medal of Honor. The award is
given to a girl who has shown
presence of mind and true
Girl Scout spirit saving life or
attempting to save life without
risk to the candidate’s own
life.
Girl Scouts of Citrus
council’s CEO,
Maryann Barry,
shares “we’re incredibly
proud of Rachel for her
quick thinking, calmness
of mind, and heroic
actions.”