KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — A Knox County woman joined Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs on Friday to help honor the firefighters who saved her life.
In April, Madison Harber was involved in a serious accident on East Emory road while pulling out of her subdivision.
It severely injured her left leg, and she was losing blood to the point that her life was in danger.
Firefighters and paramedics with Rural Metro Fire worked tirelessly to save her.
They used what is known as "Stop the Bleed," a nationally recognized practice that uses tourniquets to control bleeding.
"I am extremely grateful. It's a miracle I'm here today. I'm very happy to be here and very happy to meet them and hug them and give them their pins and some cookies. It was great," Harber said.
On Friday, Harber got to help present her rescuers with the prestigious Phoenix Medal.
"Seldom do we get to see the end result of a positive outcome. Normally we're with someone in their worst time for 10 to 15 minutes and then we never see them again. It's good to see her walk out and talk to us," said Lt. Paramedic Randy Wilson.
Rural Metro Jeff Bagwell said if you are ever in a situation where you are losing a lot of blood, there's a list of steps you can take to help slow down the bleeding.
- Apply direct pressure
- Make sure to elevate if you can
- Put on a tourniquet and pack the wound
If you don't have a tourniquet, Bagwell said you can easily use anything on or around you.
"It can be the sleeve of a sweater, it can be your belt — it can be anything you have on you," Bagwell said.
With applying any type of tourniquet, Bagwell said it's important to do it correctly.
"You want to put enough pressure to where the bleeding slows down. You don't need to necessarily make it stop completely," Bagwell said.
Harber said she is thankful for the prompt response responders took to save her life.