Inuvik (Nov 13/06) - Debbie MacDonald remembers travelling from Inuvik to Tsiigehtchic on July 4, 2005 and coming across the scene of a horrible accident.

A truck carrying five young men lost control on the gravel highway and rolled several times into a ditch. Two passengers were thrown out and everyone inside was severely injured.

Mark Orbell, 17, a high-school student in Inuvik, was a passenger in the truck. He suffered a broken neck.

He said doesn't remember anything about the crash. "I blacked out," he said, adding he doesn't remember MacDonald stopping and helping his friends Chris Schab, Morgan Hagen, Andy Robertson or Linden Lokos either.

But while Orbell doesn't remember MacDonald personally, he said he remembers her good deed.

"I want to say thanks," he said.

On Nov. 8, MacDonald received a national "Life-saving award" from the St. John Ambulance society in Inuvik. The award is given to people who help save lives by using medical knowledge in emergencies.

"It's quite a rare award," said Darin Reeves, the NWT and Nunavut chair of the St. John Ambulance council.

Over the past 10 years, Reeves said, there have only been three such awards given in northern Canada.

"All too often, we don't acknowledge the person who actually stops to help," he said about MacDonald's actions. As MacDonald accepted the award at the Inuvik Regional Hospital, she was surrounded by friends, co-workers and family who congratulated her.

Jane Smith, director of client services for the hospital, said MacDonald deserved the prize since she immediately stopped and offered to help.

Also in the audience were MacDonald's three teenagers Kenzie, Cameron and Erin.

Kenzie MacDonald said he was proud of his mother, especially since he knew all the crash victims.

"These people are my age, I know all of them," he said.

Accepting the honour, MacDonald thanked the doctors and nurses who work at the Inuvik Regional Hospital.

"I just want to say 'thank you' and accept this award for the whole team who saved those boys," she said, clearly holding back tears.

Dr. Braam de Klerk, who has worked at the Inuvik Regional Hospital for 16 years, also remembered the day of the crash.

He said it was nerve-wracking to wait 40 or 50 minutes as the victims

were rushed to the hospital. "That was one of the most traumatic days," he said, remembering how nurses and doctors scrambled in the emergency room.

While the award was a great honour for MacDonald, it brought back painful memories. After the ceremony, she said she was still marked by the event, despite having worked in hospitals and emergency rooms for 25 years and seen lots of trauma.

"I drive to Tsiigehtchic every week, and every time I drive there I relive it. I see those boys," she said quietly.