We were overjoyed with the news this week that one of Camp Unity Eastside’s residents, Tamara Hyatt, was credited with helping to save the life of a local Woodinville teen earlier this week.
We first learned about the story in a Facebook post by Woodinville Mayor Elaine Cook in the “All Things Woodinville” group.
A member of Camp Unity saved a teenage boy’s life yesterday. The member of Camp Unity noticed a young teenager collapsed on Woodinville Duvall Road, in front of St. Teresa’s Catholic church, and called for help. It saved the boys life, as he was having a very serious anaphylactic reaction from a food allergy. Camp Unity Eastside has been the very best of neighbors in this community. And this community has been generous and kind to them.
Elaine Cook
Woodinville Mayor
The young man was out training for his cross country team when Tamara crossed paths with him. Here is the story in her own words.
I was leaving for my daily walk after completing my security shift at Camp Unity at noon. I turned left out of the parking lot of St. Teresa’s onto Woodinville-Duvall road. I saw a person ahead of me leaning over like a runner who was taking a breather for a second. As I got close to him he looked at me and said:
“Help, I need help, I need to get home, please help me” and that was when he went down to the ground.
I asked him if he lived close and could I help him get there. We tried to get up together but he went down again and passed out for a couple seconds. When he came to I asked him if he knew his Mom’s phone number and he rattled it off without hesitation. I called Mom (didn’t know Mom’s name at the time so I’ll keep calling her Mom) and told her:
“I’m with your son. He’s in severe distress on the side of the road.”
He passed out again and I was patting his face and saying “wake up, we’re okay here” and he did after only a couple of seconds. He was determined that he could get himself home and we tried to get up again but it just wasn’t working. I just wanted to get him to the parking lot of the church.
At this point something amazing happened. A tanker truck of some sort (gas, milk, I don’t know and I could be completely wrong as everything was happening so fast) pulled over, stopped traffic and the driver asked what was going on. I told him the situation and that Mom was on the way. He said “we need to get him off the road”. He scooped him up like he was light as a feather and carried him to the entrance driveway to St. Teresa’s. When I told him that Mom was definitely coming he felt comfortable being on his way.. Another vehicle stopped around this time and two ladies got out and asked if they could help. A second car pulled up and a lady got out, put on her mask and stayed until Mom got there.
This is when Mom arrived! I told her what had happened and we tried to get her son up and into the car. Even with both of us supporting him he wasn’t able to walk. I said “He’s going down again. This is a 911 situation.” I called 911, and gave the address of St. Teresa’s. They asked me if he was conscious and I said he was going in and out. At this point I said “Mom’s here” and handed her my phone.
The ambulance arrived in about 4 minutes and that is where my part of the story ends!
On this occasion, at this moment, coronavirus took a back seat while we all worked together to help.
Rachel, the boy’s mother, shared the story from her perspective in this beautiful post titled, “The Best Worst Thing“.
Many of us have heard the parable of the Good Samaritan: He who shows mercy to the injured man. There is no legal requirement to show mercy. Those who show mercy demonstrate the most admirable trait of humanity.
Rachel Best-Campbell
I only know their first name. They may not know my name, just my phone number. Our conversation was brief yet so intense that I will never forget it.
They are a resident of Camp Unity, currently residing at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church. Perhaps you have seen the tents at various churches in the area. Perhaps you have negative opinions of these encampments. I say those opinions are wrong.
This person is not just a person: They are the Angel of Camp Unity and Woodinville is fortunate to have them in our community.
Woodinville City Council & Happy Mother
If you’ve spent time at Camp Unity and gotten to know the people who stay there, this story probably isn’t a surprise to you at all. These men and women are members of our community just like the rest of us. They care about Woodinville, one of the cities on the Eastside where Camp Unity is located during the year.
Tamara… thank you for your quick action, for saving this family from a tragic event, and for bringing us joy this week!