CHARACTER INFORMATION:
Full Name: Emerson Hart
Nicknames: Em, Emmy, Hart
Face Claim: Katherine Barrell
Pronouns and Gender: she+they / non-binary woman
Birthday: 33, May 4th 1989
Birth place: Spokane, Washington
How long have they been in town?: 6 years
Sexuality: Homosexual
Housing: Suburbs
Occupation: Paramedic
Family: Parents (Carol and Andrew Hart), Sister (Olivia Hart)
Personality: The definition of ‘bubbly’, always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needs one.
BIOGRAPHY:
Emerson was the first daughter to Carol and Andrew Hart, born in Spokane, Washington, her sister following a few years later. With her mother being a German expat, the girls grew up learning German as well as English, which they practiced when they travelled over to visit their mother’s side of the family.
The redhead always enjoyed their semi-rural lifestyle, spending more time outdoors than she ever did indoors, horse riding or hiking or playing on the river. Things were seemingly going well, until Emerson hit her teens, and suddenly she began experiencing dizzy spells, headaches and fluctuating hearing loss. It took a while, and several doctors before Emerson was finally diagnosed with Meniere's disease, a genetic condition that explained the symptoms she’d been experiencing. It was a frightening time for Emerson, uncertain what this would mean for her, but her family was completely supportive, the entire family learning sign language in their attempts to support Emerson.
Emerson found that she took to signing quite easily, her brain already wired to understand different languages, growing up speaking German, and while a language spoken with the hands was of course its own challenge, the redhead didn’t struggle to understand the nuances of the language. She also joined a Deaf community group for teens, which even further helped her come to terms with her diagnosis, and the new world of hearing loss that she’d suddenly become a part of.
While her condition does fluctuate, for the most part, Emerson is nearly entirely deaf in one ear, for which hearing aids provided minimal assistance. She tried them for a while, but decided that it wasn’t worth it for her. She was grateful that her family learned to sign, the redhead often signing when she spoke; at first just to practice, but it quickly became second nature to her.
She graduated high school with grades that were high enough to apply to any university she wanted, but despite her parents hopes, Emerson wasn’t quite ready to throw herself straight back into study. She needed a break, and decided to to a job on a guest ranch near the Canadian border. She’d been a camp counsellor in her last year of high school, and loved every minute of it, and so spent several tourist seasons working at Two Pines Dude Ranch, helping families have their best experience possible, Emerson doing everything from leading people out on horse back trail rides, to helping kids build bonfires, to showing people the best places on the river to catch fish. The redhead had a few rough experiences with guests not appreciating her not hearing them on the first go, but for the most part, no one minded her asking them to repeat themselves, and kids always seemed eager to learn a sign or two.
After a few seasons working on the ranch, Emerson was finally ready for something more, and wondered about becoming a paramedic. She didn’t know if that was possible with her hearing loss, but discovered that it was an option, and so she started studying to become an EMT first. Emerson thrived in the training, and while some people didn’t think she was right for the job, Emerson decided to prove them wrong by outdoing them all. Once she got her certification, she started working, but she was kept off 911 calls, working lower priority events and such. After six months, the required time, she began her paramedics course, which she managed to finish in just under nine months. When she did finish, she’d formed a little bit of a reputation for herself, and she was offered a place in Fairford. She jumped at the chance, and eagerly moved to town, where she found herself embraced in her new work environment.
That was several years ago, and Emerson loves her life in Fairford, and has carved out a nice little life for herself. She doesn’t plan on going anywhere in the foreseeable future.
