‘You guys are the reason I’m here’: Quick thinking and a new blood program help save River Falls teen

[Allina Health Newsroom, November 03, 2026] Carson Cook, along with his parents, recently stopped by Allina Health EMS in River Falls, Wisconsin, to see the team who cared for him after a serious fall. They brought cookies and a simple message. “Thanks. You guys are the reason I’m here,” Carson said.

It all started when Carson wanted a closer look at a big spider web in August.

The 15-year-old high school sophomore was with friends in a park when he climbed a tree to get a better view. As he reached for his phone, he slipped and fell about 20 feet, hitting a branch on the way down.

Fortunately, Carson wasn’t alone. His friends called 911.

Allina Health EMS paramedic Damien Anderson and EMTs Katie Olsen and Julia Pettee responded, along with the River Falls Fire Department.

Fast decisions in the field

Carson had a collapsed lung due to a hemopneumothorax and multiple facial fractures. In the ambulance, Damien quickly noticed that Carson’s blood pressure was very low, and Carson said he couldn’t breathe. The crew performed a needle decompression, placing a needle into his chest to release trapped air.

When air and blood build up between the lung and the chest wall, it can press on the lung and heart, making it harder for blood to flow and causing blood pressure to drop. Releasing that air helps blood pressure come back up.

That step made a difference. The doctor who later cared for Carson in the operating room pointed to the crew’s work, including the decision to perform the decompression.

“This is a once-in-a-career kind of call,” said Matthew Bouthilet, an Allina Health EMS supervisor. “It’s a tool you hope you don’t have to use, but when you need it, it’s lifesaving.”

A first for a new blood program

The crew also recognized that Carson needed blood before he reached Regions Hospital. 

Just 11 hours prior to the call, Allina Health EMS went live with the Blood Intercept program after completing several weeks of training in partnership with Lakeview EMS to administer pre-hospital whole blood to decompensating trauma patients. Lakeview EMS began carrying blood products last year and recently partnered with Allina Health EMS to make this lifesaving intervention available across the communities the agencies serve. When a patient needs a transfusion on the way to the hospital, crews can call for a Lakeview EMS team to meet them with blood products.

Carson became the first Allina Health EMS patient to receive blood through the program. The care team members activated it before leaving the scene, and an Allina Health EMS dispatcher coordinated the response between the agencies. Lakeview EMS met the ambulance at a weigh station in Minnesota and began the blood transfusion. Less than five minutes later, the ambulance was back on the road to the hospital, with Carson receiving the blood he urgently needed.

A grateful family

Carson spent six days at Regions and Gillette Children’s hospitals.

“Nobody ever wants to experience this. It was the scariest night of my life,” said his mom, Lindsay Cook. “We’re so thankful.”

She still can’t believe how lucky they were that Carson received immediate, expert care. 

For Damien, the visit was a rare chance to see how a patient is doing. EMS crews don’t always learn what happens after they hand off care. “It was great to see it was such a good outcome,” he said.

As for Carson, he’s grateful too. “It’s nice to know there are people who will do that for you,” he said.