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| By Jason Cole |
| Riley on his new bicycle with helmet on with Chief Samantha J. Cole, EMS Reo Landry, Riley's dad Travis, EMS Carmen Stanton and EMT Rob Karwanski. |
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| By Jason Cole |
| Riley takes a tour of the ambulance that transported him to the helicopter pad at Goodall. EMS Driver Engineer Rick Elliott and Chief Samantha Cole also in the picture. |
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| By Jason Cole |
| Riley gives the chief a thank you hug after receiving his gifts. |
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| By Jason Cole |
| Some of the rescue members with Riley as he is presented with his new bicycle and helmet, and photos of the Life Flight ride he took. |
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| By Jason Cole |
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| By Jason Cole |
| Lebanon EMT Larry Woods and Chief Samantha Cole show the rescue departments 6x6 off road rescue vehicle to Riley. |
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| By Jason Cole |
| Riley shows his little sister all the "cool" equipment that they used on him when he was transported on July 4th. |
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| By Jason Cole |
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LEBANON, ME - On Saturday, August 8, 2009 volunteers with the Lebanon Rescue Department presented 7-year-old Riley Franz of Evergreen Lane in South Lebanon with a new bicycle and helmet thanks to the rescue volunteers and a neighbor chipping in to buy the bicycle.
Riley was riding his bicycle when he was allegedly hit head-on by a four wheeler on Evergreen Lane on July 4th while celebrating the holiday with family. The four wheeler landed on top of Riley, and the dad and neighbors had to lift the four wheeler off of Riley to get him help. The dad watched the entire accident unfold and told rescue workers it was the scariest thing he had ever seen and he felt so powerless at the time. Riley showed signs of possible serious internal injuries and was brought to Goodall Hospital by Lebanon Ambulance and then transferred to the Trauma Center at Maine Medical by Life Flight Helicopter.
Riley has made an amazing recovery and just has some small scars to show from the accident.
After seeing the bicycle at the scene and seeing that it was destroyed, the rescue volunteers all agreed that they needed to do something. They chipped in, with the generosity of another neighbor of the victims, and bought a really nice bicycle and safety helmet. On Saturday, some of the volunteers who had helped Riley were on hand to present the new bicycle and helmet, as well as two framed photographs. One is of Riley coming out of the ambulance and going towards the Life Flight Helicopter and the second is right after the helicopter took off, and you can see Riley in the side window.
"We also wanted to invite Riley to come see the rescue equipment and not be fearful of it, as sometimes children who experience traumatic calls like Riley do. He hopped right into the ambulance and actually showed his little sister the "cool" equipment on the ambulance. He got a tour of the command truck and off road rescue vehicle as well, and loved them." Chief of the the Department Samantha Cole stated.
His family was at the presentation and went up and thanked each volunteer, which meant a lot to the volunteers. They not only thanked them for the new bicycle and helmet, but helping to save Riley's life on July 4th. His parents, Justin and Susan Franz, his sister and his grandmother were on hand for the ceremony.
Riley took a ride on his new bicycle, with safety helmet on, in the rescue station parking lot. When asked if he would ever ride his bicycle without a helmet on again, he said he would never get on a bicycle without one.
"It made the volunteers feel great to see Riley riding his bicycle again, with a smile on his face and helmet on. We are just so glad that he made a full recovery and was here today to receive this from us. This was the least we could do for the traumatic incident he went through." Chief Cole added.
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