Young mother Emma Carter lived through every parent’s worst nightmare — and her quick action is now being praised across her entire community.

Young mother Emma Carter lived through every parent’s worst nightmare — and her quick action is now being praised across her entire community.

On an ordinary, sunlit afternoon in Cedar Falls—a day that felt almost too peaceful, the kind that makes parents lower their guard—two little girls wandered through a field behind their home, plucking wildflowers with the kind of carefree delight only children can summon. Emma watched them from a short distance, smiling at the sight of their tangled hair and grass-stained knees, believing this moment would be one of those soft, golden memories t…