PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- Almost a year after American Medical Response (AMR) paramedic Jordan Sisneros responded to the scene of a car crash, he is reuniting with the teenager whom other first responders say he helped save.
In November of 2025, Sisneros responded to a traffic accident where Giovanni Medina was critically injured, according to officials.
" The car was T-boned into the driver's side," Sisneros recounted. "[Medina] was unconscious. Me and my partner, we started providing care. I jumped in and tried to set him up. He was unconscious with some ineffective breathing."
Sisnerso says other first responders arrived quickly after, putting a collar on Medina and assisting wth ventiliations. But Sisneros says Medina was getting worse.
"I couldn't do the advanced airway that we normally do out in the field," Sisneros said. "I didn't know how long extrication was going to take."
Sisneros says that uncertainty about the timeline, along with Medina's worsening condition, led him to perform a procedure that they rarely do: a surgical cricothyrotomy, or surgical cric.
"In my entire career of over 10 years being a paramedic, that was my first and only surgical cricothyrotomy," Sisneros said.
Other first responders, including firefighters on scene, told Sisneros they wouldn't have known that. He says he relied on his work as a field training officer with AMR to stay calm and keep his skills up to date.
"I always like to describe it as the duck on a pond," Sisneros said. "The duck on the pond looks like it's swimming so gracefully, but underneath that water, the duck is doing everything they can to stay afloat."
On Friday, Sisneros was able to reunite with Medina and the rest of the team that helped him that night. He says getting to do this kind of follow-up isn't very common.
"I always remembered his name, Giovanni, and it always comes back down to him," Sisneros said. "When I first ran on him, I thought he was older than he was. Not that it really changed anything, but when you find out stuff after the fact, it puts a different perspective on it."
He says he was excited to meet with Medina and his family, and to see how far he has been able to come, through Medina's own efforts and the ones of his medical staff.
" To hear that he went through all of that and he's come this far and he's doing good, it's great to see somebody go from pretty much a pile of rubble to back to normal," Sisneros said.
Sisneros says he couldn't have done it without his partner and other first responders on the team. He also emphasized just how much EMS really does in the field, putting the term "first responders" into perfect perspective.
"We're literally bringing the emergency room to the patient," Sisneros said. "We're providing care not only on scene, but during transport. We are providing as much care as we can to stabilize the patient from injury and insult to the hospital."
Now, Sisneros is set to be named a 2026 Star of Life by the American Ambulance Association. It's the highest honor awarded in EMS, according to officials. They say the program honors EMS professionals whose service made a difference for patients, colleagues and their communities.
"It's such a great honor, and it feels a bit awkward, but I feel humble getting it," Sisneros said. " I'm not much of an attention person, because, at the end of the day, it does come down to it being kind of like our job, but it's nice to get recognized."
He says the award is about more than just him.
"It represents more than just one call to me," Sisneros said. "It reflects the care that we provide and the patients we serve."
Sisneros is one of 33 EMS professionals from Global Medical Response, the AMR parent company, selected this year. According to Sisneros, he will join the other awardees in Washington, D.C. next month. Organizers say the awardees will also get a chance to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and share his experience.
Sisneros offered advice for those looking to get into the field as well. He says he got into it because he wanted to both help people and educate, something he gets to do to this day.
"It is a very difficult and arduous job, but if you are determined, don't let anybody hold you back," Sisneros said. "Don't let anyone say that you can't do it."
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The post One year later, paramedic reunites with teenager he helped save after car crash appeared first on KRDO.
