Search and Rescue 2

[Devilmanak]

I already posted a thread a while ago about concerns about search and rescue here in McCall. Turns out my concerns were unfounded. However, I wanted to make another post on the subject.
We took a bunch of guys from Washington out yesterday. (Nicest group of guys I have met, I was mad because it renewed my faith in humanity, and I had already given up on that.)
Anyway, one of the guys had a freak getoff, doing nothing crazy or stupid, but the whacked snow we have got now took him for a ride. Ended up breaking his femur badly. We weren't really sure how badly he was hurt at the time, because to be honest, he took it VERY well. He ended up laying right next to the sled, in kinda a perfect lounging position, so there was no having to move him at the time and he was comfortable, but he knew he broke it or tore his knee up. We figured ACL at the time because he did take it so well. Couple of guys ran for cell reception, another guy went down the trail to wait for S&R after making the call. I was worried about the one guy making the run down the hill by himself, so I found cell reception and called 911 to ask where S&R was coming from, as far as parking lots, so I could follow him down and meet htem. The dispatcher said that she was actually on the other line with my buddy and told me where he was waiting, then put me through to the EMT for an update on the hurt dude. I went down to meet my bud and wait for S&R, then we led them up. The S&R rig couldn't get up to where we were, so we grabbed the EMT and his gear and ferried him up. Outside of a hospital room, the most professional medical service I have seen. Medic immediately figured it was a broken femur and we were not going to get him out on the toboggan, so he called in Life Flight and we prepped him for carrying him down the hill and over to where the heli would land. For a bad situation, it was amazing how it went, the EMT was a pro at keeping guy's pain levels tolerable, and everyone worked together to make the best of it. It was an interesting experience for me and I will definitely be getting hooked up to help with Search and Rescue in the future. They did a fantastic job.

 

[sled18]

Thank you!

Special thanks to everyone who were able to get me out of a really sticky situation. Thank you to Chris and Ben for contacting the EMT and getting them safely to me. Thank you to August, the paramedic who was able to dispatch the helicopter to me and get me to the hospital as comfortably as possible. Thank you to Tom for keeping me calm, and giving me guidance through what is the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. It really helped me to not freak out and go into shock, which would have been very bad. Thank you to my buddies Caleb and Drew for being by my side and trying to keep my spirits up when I needed it most, and for feeding me cookies. . Thank you to the helivac team that got me safely to the hospital, and for knowing the best doctor I would need . Dr. Irvine saved my life, as well as the whole crew at St. Lukes, who became my family for a week, and a lifetime. Thank you to my fiance for staying by my side, and to my mom and grandma for coming up and taking care of us and giving support. This list could go on forever, because in my heart I know a thank you will never be enough. I feel so thankful for all the great people in my life. I made it home now, and have a long road of recovery ahead of me, but man, it's good to be home.

 

[Devilmanak]

Wish I could have made it into visit and say hi, but Ben gave me daily updates on you when you were here. Glad you guys trusted the McCall hospital and Dr. Irvine to put you back together, I mentioned to eveyone in the waiting room when we visited right after it happened that Dr. Irvine wasn't a small town hick Dr., and that he recently moved here for a change of scenery and that he had a good rep, I think everyone was a little worried about the care you would recieve here when trying to figure out a plan. Glad it all worked out for sure. That was an ordeal for you for sure, sorry you had to go through it. It made us all think a little about what we do here and where we go, if your break had been compound, it would have been a very very messy deal. I am sure they would have sent the heli out right off based on our word, but it still took a couple hours to get it there once it was called in. Part of why it took so long was because you took it so well, lol. You ended up landing in a semi-comfortable position, it was sunny, you didn't have to move, and we were thinking for a while that it was just a torn ACL or something, because you were so calm and you didn't know. So our calls to 911 were a little vague in that we told them we weren't sure how badly you were hurt. (Until August got there and touched you, then it was clear.) Best of luck, heal up, come back and we can go out again, with better snow and we won't touch that hill, lol.
Chris