CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — Gunfire pierced an already devastated portion of Louisiana following Hurricane Laura last year. But, as an American Red Cross volunteer, Kayla McCall, knew she had to help. Her efforts to save a stranger's life and calm loved ones after he was shot did not go unnoticed.
Rain or shine, McCall won’t pass up a walk at Reinstein Nature Preserve in Cheektowaga.
“I feel like it’s the most beautiful park,” McCall said. “I love the lily pads, and it’s so peaceful.”
Peace is something McCall also likes to give. Especially as a Disaster Preparedness Associate with the American Red Cross.
“About two years now,” McCall said.
She volunteers through a contract with AmeriCorps. Her passion to give back, started in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina ripped through the south.
“I ended up creating a lemonade stand,” McCall smiled.
Fast forward to last year, and McCall found herself in Louisiana helping in the wake of Hurricane Laura’s devastation. Just three days into her time there helping those displaced find places to stay, the unthinkable happened as she took a break.
“As I was waiting for coffee, that’s when I heard the gunshots,” McCall recalled.
Unlike most, McCall didn’t run away.
“When I saw that man come around the corner bleeding, I just jumped into action,” McCall said.
That’s when McCall used her training to help. She found police, who then called paramedics. She then ran to the Red Cross shelter to find an item she only recently learned can be used to treat gunshot wounds.
“I was about to push the tampon into his bullet hole, or wound, and that’s when the paramedics showed up,” McCall said.
McCall still stayed and turned her attention to those who knew the victim.
“I felt like I just had to do something, even if it was just standing there and holding space,” McCall said.
No doubt her warmth was felt by those watching, as paramedics tried to save a life. The gentleman unfortunately passed on his way to the hospital.
Looking back, McCall wishes she could have done more, and she is left humbled by the experience, and her nomination.
“I don’t feel like a hero,” McCall said. “I like to think someone would do that if that was me bleeding out.”
That is why Kayla McCall is your 2021 American Red Cross Lifeline Hero.
Through her interview, McCall kept mentioning a woman she believed to have been her angel that day. After gifting the woman a healing crystal, she returned to give McCall an angel pennant. McCall doesn't know her name, but she hopes to one day thank her.
This coming Monday on Your Afternoon on Spectrum News 1, we’ll introduce you to a 16-year-old boy who jumped into action and saved a woman’s life after she was dragged under a vehicle.