One-on-One with April O'Quinn: VA EMT Honored with American Girl Doll

A contest.

An adoring niece.

And, a humble EMT.

Put them together, and you get one beautiful story.

As the COVID-19 pandemic raged into June, essential workers continued to put their lives on the line each day to take care of others. The American Girl Company wanted to highlight their service. A request went out asking for nominations of friends or family members who were putting their own health at risk to step up to serve others in the midst of the pandemic, calling it the Heroes with Heart contest. At the end of August, American Girl announced the five grand prize winners. 

Among those five winners was April O’Quinn, an EMT for Richmond Ambulance Authority.

The grand prize? A custom doll made in April’s likeness, with a spotlight feature on the American Girl website and an American Girl gift card. In an exclusive interview with Pulsara, April described her reaction: “It’s been a humbling experience, but an awesome one at that.”

April's niece, Lacey, was the one who nominated her, telling American Girl about her aunt’s fearless willingness to put her health on the line to serve others. April contracted COVID-19 in the line of duty, and had to take a month off work. Lacey noted that though her family worried for April’s safety, they are incredibly proud of her.

American Girl was touched by her story. Along with a picture of the doll, they released a brief explanation of why they chose April: “April is a paramedic working on the front lines in Virginia, who was nominated by her niece. April was diagnosed with COVID-19, but her niece says, 'When she was finally healed and released back to work, she didn’t hesitate for one moment.'”

April was shocked to receive Lacey’s call when they won, as she never expected that she might be chosen. “When Lacey had finished everything, she called me and said, ‘I hope this is okay!’ I said, ‘Well sure! Go ahead.’ I thought to myself, they’ll never pick me.” At that point, April decided to create her own doll for Lacey. “I actually started looking into finding someone who would be able to sew a uniform, and looking on American Girl’s website to create one of the ‘just like me’ dolls,” she said. “And we ended up not having to go that route!”

Last week, April flew down to Texas and spent some time with Lacey—the first time they’d been together since winning the contest. “Lacey met me at the airport, and then we went and did a photo shoot at one of the local EMS agencies. We dressed alike, and she wore a uniform that matched mine, and then we went and pretended to be partners in the back of an ambulance.”

The entire experience has been pretty special for both April and Lacey. “Lacey has been super excited about the whole thing,” April said. “She’s always been huge on American Girl. She’s enjoyed it. Her face just lights up every time someone talks about it. It’s a one-of-a-kind bond that she and I will have forever.”

And while it's been exciting for their family, being selected has had a much wider impact than they ever imagined. April has received hundreds of messages from people she had no idea she’d made a difference to, letting her know how much she inspired them. Several now plan to become medics. “I’m blown out of the water by how far this has gone and how many people messaged me and told me that I’ve secretly inspired them from before, and now even more so now that this is out. People that I would see in passing, and didn’t even know their names—but they knew me. They’ve been inspired to go into EMS,” she said. “I had one girl tell me that she always looked up to me as she saw me in passing, and then two days after the story broke was the start of her EMT class. That was really cool.”

April told us that it means the world to her to get to represent EMS in this way. “It’s just been amazing to be that face and role model for all the girls. A lot of people look at EMS as a man’s world. It's been an honor to be the inspiration to show them that hey, we’re women, but we can do this. We’re just as strong, and we can be out there on the frontlines helping people. Don’t let anyone scare you away from it.”

When asked what makes her passionate about being a first responder, April described the feeling of being there for people when they need it most. “What drives me is being there to help people—being that first face that they see when they open the door. I get up and I do it and I don’t think about it. I didn’t think about it until recently, and how many people have messaged me and said that they always looked up to me and what I do. To me, it was just another day at work. They always say that if you do something that you love, you’ll never work a day in your life, and that’s how I feel.”

Those of us at Pulsara couldn’t help noticing that April’s doll is equipped with a mobile phone and a smart watch, just like April. It’s exciting to see mobile technology represented as the future of communication in healthcare. Early influences are incredibly important in helping kids decide what they want to be when they grow up, and we’re thrilled that American Girl is showing young girls that a career in EMS is within their reach. After speaking with April, it’s pretty clear to us that they chose the perfect person to represent EMS.

We salute American Girl for recognizing the sacrifices of healthcare workers, and for representing EMS to young girls in such a positive way—especially with a view towards the future of healthcare. And finally, Pulsara echoes April’s advice to kids who are interested in EMS, or in any other career they want to pursue: “No matter what you want to do in life, jump all-in, both feet, and go for it. Don’t let anyone stop you. Just jump in and do what you want to do.”

We’re thankful for April and all the other EMTs, medics, and clinicians who are part of the care continuum, who put their lives on the line each and every day to serve others.

All photos used with permission from Richmond Ambulance Authority.