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WNY's Great Kid: Clarence Boy Scout Uses First-Aid to Help Friend

A Clarence boy recently put his first-aid skills to the test and came to the rescue when his friend was hurt, and that's why he's this week's "Great Kid."

CLARENCE, NY- A Clarence boy recently put his first-aid skills to the test and came to the rescue when his friend was hurt, and that's why he's this week's "Great Kid."

Twelve-year-old Kaden Smith and 11-year-old Karl Guenther have been inseparable since they started playing soccer together two years ago.

Boys will be boys, and last week when they were playing with their nerf swords, Kaden got hurt and Karl showed what a true friend he is.

The boys recall Kaden tripping, falling to the ground and hitting the back of his head on a rock. He started bleeding from his head and his nose.

"My husband and I were inside and Karl had opened the back door and had just yelled 'There's blood! Kaden's bleeding! He hurt himself!' We flew out," said Kaden's mother, Katherine Smith. "I froze. I didn't know what to do. You think you're going to know what to do if something like that happens, but I really did freeze. Just to see your child hurt like that was really scary."

Karl said he was scared as well, but he knew he had to keep calm, and he put his new found first-aid skills to the test.

"I learned it from my Boy Scout manual. I got paper towels. I wet them and put them on the back of Kaden's head and I gave him some to put on his nose. I gave pressure to his head so that the bleeding would stop," said Karl, a Tenderfoot working on his 2nd class rank in Boy Scout Troop 93.

"He calmed me down," said Katherine. "It was like he was the adult and I was the child. He was great."

Karl's dad, one of his scoutmasters, couldn't be more proud.

"It's funny because just a day or two before he said, 'I really want to do a lot more first-aid in scouts.' And all of sudden he's doing it," said Karl Guenther.

After a trip to urgent care, Kaden turned out to be just fine, thanks in part, to Karl's quick thinking. Kaden and his parents are extremely thankful and grateful for Karl.

"I feel like it's unnecessary because I was just doing first aid to help out one of my friends. And I had the knowledge so I just wanted to do it just to help him."

Katherine reached out to 2 On Your Side to nominate Karl to be featured as one of "WNY's Great Kids" because she thought he should be recognized for his actions.

If you know of a "Great Kid," share his or her story with Melissa Holmes by calling 716-849-2216 or e-mailing Melissa.Holmes@wgrz.com .

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