On the bus to the summer job, Wilma Johansen, 16, saw a bloody man in the ditch.
Once at work, she could not let go of what she had seen and chose to go back to help the man. Now she is praised on social media.
– If you see someone lying on the hill, you go there. It goes without saying, says Wilma.
What Wilma Johansen thought would be an ordinary bus trip to the summer job in Falun turned out to be something completely different.
– I sat and looked out the window, as usual. Then I see that there is someone lying in the ditch by the bus shelter outside the infirmary, says Wilma to TV4 Nyheterna.
She went on to work, but couldn’t quite let go of what she had seen.
– My boss Jenny was going to pick me up. I went and met her and told her what I had seen. Then we agreed that we would go there and check that he was okay.
Worry: “He just lay there”
Once outside the infirmary, they found the bloody man in the ditch.
– We asked if he was okay but he just lay there mumbling. It didn’t feel really good, says Wilma.
Before Wilma and Jenny could call the ambulance and the police, a security guard appeared, who took care of the man. They could blow out.
For Wilma, it was a matter of course to go back to help him.
– If you were to lie there yourself at some point, you would want someone to help you. And my parents have always been careful to check how people are doing and take care of others, says Wilma.
“The world needs more people like Wilma”
In the local Falun group on Facebook, the 16-year-old is now praised in a long post by his boss Jenny.
“I am so deeply proud of my summer worker Wilma, who without hesitation noticed and wanted to go there and help. Of course, it is important to do a good job at your summer job selling ice cream. But to show humanity and concern as Wilma did yesterday. It is admirable and a thousand times more important,” wrote Jenny in the attention-grabbing post.
The post has received over 1,000 likes and several encouraging comments such as:
“The world needs more people like Wilma”
“Nice work Wilma! You have more courage than many adults.”
Starting high school in the fall
Wilma herself did not think that her heroic effort would be so celebrated.
– If you see someone lying on the hill, you go there, that goes without saying. So I didn’t expect it to be this big. But it’s always fun that people appreciate what you do, she says.
In the fall, Wilma starts high school and the choice of program was obvious.
– I want to work with people and I like helping others, so I thought that nursing would suit me well, she says.