Emmalee Taylor: Plastic Surgery with Moorman Aesthetic Center / Wilderness First Responder Course 7/6- 7/10

Hello, my name is Emmalee Taylor, I am seventeen years old, and from Ridgway, Colorado. This July I had the opportunity to take part in a Wilderness First Responder course in Telluride funded by the Pinhead Institute. I was originally meant to go to the Moorman Aesthetic Center in St. Croix to shadow a plastic surgeon, but due to Covid-19, I was unable to go. I hope in the future I am able to attend this internship, but I am so grateful that I was able to take part in the WFR course.

The Wilderness First Responder Course was so useful to take because I can use the information that I learned in everyday life. As a ‘WooFeR’ I am qualified to provide medical assistance to anyone in need if thirty minutes or more from a hospital. Living in Ridgway, the closest hospital is Montrose Memorial Hospital, which is approximately 35 minutes away, so I can use my medical knowledge. I also spend a lot of time outside, either hiking in the San Juans or Cimmarons, paddleboarding on the Ridgway Reservoir, or biking the RAT trails, where there is a chance for accidents to happen.

I would hate for someone to get hurt where I could potentially help them and not have the knowledge to do so.

This course taught me CPR, how to set and wrap a fracture, stop an allergic reaction, stop bleeding, or even how to fix a dislocation.

I was able to meet so many kind and incredible people during this course, and am still in contact with many of them. Jordon Copeland and I have gone paddleboarding together and are now good friends, but we would have never met without the Wilderness First Responder Course. I am so grateful for all the opportunities that the Pinhead Institute has given to me, including to possibly save a life.

Thank you so much to Sarah Holbrooke, our incredible instructors: Kevin Dunkak, Bob Rohrer, and Jeremy Womack, and to all of my fellow Pinterns who attended the WFR course. I will be forever grateful for the experiences and lessons I learned from this course, thank you all.