Young Stabbing Victims to Get Epic Christmas Thanks to Prince George's Paramedic

DISTRICT HEIGHTS, MD — A Nov. 12 call for help in District Heights was a nightmare scenario for any first responder: two young children had been reported stabbed by their father. For Pam Graham, a paramedic lieutenant for the Prince George's County Fire Department who was one of the first on the scene, the story couldn't end there for the two kids and their mom -- and now she's going to try to make this Christmas a holiday to remember for the family, in a good way.

Authorities believe 2-year-old Jordan and 3-year-old Jhalil will be OK physically after their father allegedly stabbed them at their home on that date. But the incident has resulted in major upheaval for the family, and they've had to leave Prince George's County. Graham wants to do her part to help what is certainly a difficult time for the mother and kids, and so she has started a fundraiser for them that has already reached into the thousands of dollars. She's also hoping to get local sports teams involved and is in the process of organizing a visit from a fire truck carrying Santa and a police car filled with toys on Christmas Day.

Graham remembers arriving on the scene on that fateful day working overtime on Ambulance 823. She told Patch she remembers hearing the call come in for children stabbed, and nobody working with her believed it at first until it was confirmed soon after.

"We got on the scene, and it was chaos," Graham said. "Police were everywhere."

She was sent to the house next door, where the children had gone after the incident. She found Jhalil in the kitchen with a stab wound, but 2-year-old Jordan had gotten the worst of it, suffering multiple wounds in the upper torso. Graham focused her attention on him first, and informed the hospital that two children would be en route.

The incident affected Graham deeply because of another terrible incident involving a child in 2012, when a 6-year-old boy died in Clinton after accidentally shooting himself. The boy had apparently gotten the gun from a Spider-Man book bag that had been left on the floor that was not his, but looked like his, and so he grabbed it.

"I lost him," Graham said. "I don't have many regrets in the fire department, but that's definitely one. I was determined I was not going to lose another baby."

Graham said she was relieved Jordan as well as Jhalil survived the surgery, and when she talked to their mom recently, she heard them in the background.

"They sounded like little boys playing," she said. "Hopefully this will not have a lasting affect on them."

Toward that end, Graham is hoping to make this an epic Christmas for the boys and their mom.

As of Monday, the YouCaring campaign had raised $2,870 of its goal of $10,000. Graham said she initially only set the fundraising goal at $250, and had to keep raising it due to the outpouring of support.

"It'll help mom, because she had to resettle," she said. "And then Santa is going to come on the fire truck [on Christmas Day], and there's going to be a police car and they're going to have a bunch of toys for the kids."

She's reaching out to the major area sports teams -- the Redskins, Capitals, Wizards, Nationals and D.C. United -- to see if they would be willing to send one or two people with a jersey. Graham said she'd also like to start a college fund for each of the boys if there's money left over.

The response from the community has overwhelmed Graham.

"I actually upped the goal to $10,000 because it was coming in so fast," she said.

If you would like to donate, click here.

Image via Flickr user Joe Buckingham