“Mom, I am going for a bike ride, I need to get in shape for the tryathlon!” shouted Emma Greenhart with excitement in her voice.

“Are you sure you will make it through the tryathlon?” Mrs.Greenhart asked Emma.

“Mom, don’t give up on me.”

“Okay, okay just be back by two o’clock.”

Emma looks up and notices the sun is slightly past the middle of the sky. She hops on her bike and rides down the old dirt road she has lived on for most her life. As she heads down the road she realizes that she is getting tired really fast.

“Wow, I really need to get into shape, fast if i want to be ready the tryathlon next week,” Emma grumbled to herself.

She decides to turn down a different road than usual. The phone in her back pocket dings which means she has a new text message. She takes her eyes off of the road and to her phone. Without any notice the front wheel falls into a pothole in the road causing Emma to skid out of control. Her body skids over the dirt road and rocks strike into her side. As she landed, her head smashed against a culvert causing unconsciousness. Her body lies there motionless.

The sun came back up and a truck drives by to see the pink bike with bows tied on the front lying off to the right-hand side of the road. He becomes curious as to why the bike is on the road, so he gets out of the truck to examine it closer. The man walks up to the bike and looks around puzzled. He stops immediately and runs to the body when he sees it. He takes Emma’s pulse and is relieved when he feels a heartbeat. The man tries to wake her up but it is no use, she is in a coma.

Realizing that he doesn’t have a phone with him, he tries to find a phone on Emma. He finds her phone several feet away from her. Quickly he picks it up and calls 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?” said the dispatcher.

“Umm, I found a teenage girl’s body on the side of the road but she is still breathing.”

“Ok, where are you?”

“Um, I am on 112th Avenue next to an old church.”

“I will send an ambulance right away.”

The man hangs up and notices there are about fifty calls and messages from her mother. He decides to call her mom to let her know about her daughter.

“Emma, thank goodness you called, your father and I have been so worried,” said Mrs.Greenhart with hope in her voice.

“This is not Emma, but i think i found her on the side of the road, she is still breathing.”

“Did you call an ambulance?”

“Yes, it should be here any minute.”

“Where are you?”

“I am next to an old church on 112th avenue.”

“I am on my way.”

Minutes later an ambulance comes along with Mr.and Mrs.Greenhart.

“What is your name?” Mr.Greenhart asks the man who found Emma.

“George Freeman,” replies the man.

The paramedics put Emma in the ambulance and drive off to the hospital with the sirens blowing and the lights flashing.

All three of them hop into a car and chase the ambulance. As they reach the hospital, they run inside and find Emma. Doctors crowd around her trying to figure out what is wrong with her. Emma’s parents and George are asked to wait in the waiting room so they won’t be in the way.

After a few long hours a doctor comes up to them with a glimpse of hope in his eyes, yet he has a straight face.

“She has a severe case of hypothermia and is in a coma. You can go see her if you wish.”

Mr.and Mrs.Greenhart walk into Emma’s room and see her lying on her bed. The nurses try to get her to wake up, nothing is working. The nurses try and try again but Emma just lies there motionless. Suddenly the electrocardiogram beeps a low consecutive beep. Mr. and Mrs.Greenhart both gasp. They know what is happening, her heart has stopped beating. The nurses try everything they can to get her heartbeat back and after a couple of minutes they stop. A nurse then walks over to Mr.and Mrs.Greenhart.

“I am so sorry, we have tried everything we can, she is dead.”

“She was only 19, too young to die. I hardly ever see her anymore, she only came home on weekends,” Mrs.Greenhart said between sobs.

“Somehow we will make it through this hard time,” replied Mr.Greenhart while comforting his wife.


Just before the nurses took Emma off of life support the electrocardiogram started making a beep every so often, beep….beep….beep. Her heartbeat has returned! Mr. and Mrs.Greenhart are overjoyed. Minutes later her eyes flutter open and they land on her parents.

“Mom, don’t give up on me,” Emma muttered.