Aiden Ashby, 15, knows firsthand the anxiety that children feel when a loved one is the subject of a 911 emergency call.
About two-and-a-half years ago, Ashby’s mother, Shelley Ashby, who had recently had a thyroidectomy, experienced a drastic drop in her calcium levels. The Pekin Fire Department was the first responder to his father, Jason Ashby’s 911 call.
“I was in full paralysis,” said Shelley Ashby. “I couldn’t move or breathe and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance.”
Because the crisis occurred at 5:30 a.m., Aiden Ashby’s younger sister, Sophie, then 6 years old but now 8, was still asleep. But Aiden Ashby was awake and was a witness to the emergency response procedure.
Aiden Ashby, currently a member of Boy Scout Troop 62 in Pekin, has been in scouting since the age of 7, when he joined the Cub Scouts. An aspiring Eagle Scout when he began working on his Eagle Scout Service Project last October, he was influenced by his own experience of seeing a loved one in need of medical care, he said. He organized an effort to put together vinyl bags containing items like stuffed animals, toys, games and puzzles for local firefighters to carry in their trucks when responding to calls, said Aiden and Shelley Ashby. The items are designed to soothe worried children.