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Jessica’s ‘sett’ to be a lifesaver - at just eight! - VIDEO
LITTLE Jessica Dickinson is a cut above the rest when it comes to helping those in need.
The eight-year-old has been named St John Ambulance’s Badger of the Year 2012.
The Westoe Crown Primary School pupil said: “I really like learning first aid, and I think it’s important that everybody learns it, because then they’ll be able to help other people if they get hurt.”
Jessica, of Manor Court in Westoe, South Shields, has been a member of the Badgers – a junior group run by first aid charity, St John Ambulance – for two years.
She joined after her best friend Ellie Pearson, nine, a pupil at Mortimer Primary School, also of Manor Court, told her how much she enjoyed it.
The Badgers meet once a week at the Londonderry Hall in Dean Road, Westoe, to learn first aid skills (through which they earn badges), to play games and meet friends.
Jessica said: “I didn’t really know that much about first aid, but Ellie told me how much fun it was, and I wanted to go to the Badgers with her.
“I really liked it straight away.
“I like helping my friends if they get hurt, and learning different things about checking someone’s injuries and what kind of first aid to do for them.”
Thanks to her training, Jessica has learned how to bandage people up, and has even practised using a defibrillator. She added: “We would all be a lot safer if everyone knew first aid, and we’d all know what to do when someone got hurt.”
Jessica enjoys her first aid training so much that she is already thinking about following in the footsteps of her aunt, Sarah Morton, and taking up a career in medicine.
She said: “My auntie is a nurse and I want to be one as well. It would be a really good job and I’d get to help people every day. Everyone should try going to Badgers. It’s really fun and I’ve met lots of friends there.
“I think everyone would enjoy it as much as I do.”
Her father, Evan, 44, a heating engineer, and mother, Nicola, are delighted with her success.
Mr Dickinson said: “We’re extremely proud of Jessica. It’s a worthwhile thing she does, but winning Badger of the Year was a really nice surprise and we’re really proud of her.”
Twitter: @ShieldsGazVicki
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Weather for Jarrow
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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