Emergency Helicopter landed at my house tonight to transport 2-year-old to the hospital
My next-door neighbors, who are really good friends, were startled last night with a medical emergency. They called 911. The first responders, police 🚔 , and an ambulance 🚑 arrived to care for the little one.
I found out about it when one of my kids told me about blinking red and blue lights next door, out the window. It was about 11:00 pm on a dark, moonless, clear night.
Oh no, I thought of my neighbor's recent medical conditions.
I went outside to find out the details. It was my neighbor's grand-daughter, who lives nearby. By this time, a number of friends and family members had gathered to help and to pray.
As I was talking to friends of the family, I overheard that a helicopter would be coming in 14 minutes. 😪
Since we are in a rural area, there is a pasture next to where the ambulance was idling. Inside, the little one was being treated. Her mom was beside her. Her siblings stood nearby with friends.
Let me explain something to all of the city folks. Where I live, the ambulances do not always simply rush to the nearest and most specific trauma center. The paramedics will typically be in contact with a doctor or specialist, and it is not uncommon to see the ambulance 🚑 remain parked. You may see this for roadside emergencies, too. But if and when a decision is made to transport to a major medical center, this often means a transfer to a helicopter. This can happen at the local volunteer fire station (which has a helo pad) or it may happen in an open field.
The ambulance stayed put rather than transporting the child to the nearest hospital 🏥 30 minutes away. That hospital would be unable to care for the sick girl.
So I was tasked with cutting the barbed wire fence to the pasture.
The first responders made sure there were no livestock (which might be curious) or horses (which might startle) in the field. It just so happened that no cattle were in the field during this season. This meant that the helicopter would land about 100 yards from my house in the neighbor's backyard. The grass was all high, and it had not been cut for a few months.
Thankfully, the weather and temperature and wind were all perfect. I am sure pilots train for difficult circumstances. This had to be a veritable piece of cake. The circumstances were such that my kids were going to be able to get a close view of the landing, even from their bedrooms. But I decided that they should come watch up close. Very close.
They knew the sick girl very well. They had all played with her. I felt that they needed to see her fly away. My kids were about to grow up a little. I told them all to wait while I charged my cell phone, worked with the fence cutters, and checked on the family members.
After some communications problems over the radio, the Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter came into view. It was at medium altitude and had distinct red/green running lights. A spotlight came on. But its first pass was very high as the pilot executed a large circular path with about a kilometer diameter. We were impatient at this point, but I am assuming that the pilot must circle to ensure the safety of everyone, especially landing in unfamiliar, hilly terrain.
Our homestead is on top of a rather large flat plain, which is relatively unusual where I live. I can only imagine the pilot's relief seeing no obstacles of consequence and a field flat enough and large enough to play football. He set it down right where the first responder had signaled, roughly 100 feet (35 m) from a home and the ambulance.
My kids were ecstatic. Their voices can be heard on the video I took. They stood 200 feet (70 m) from the landing zone, which of course means they got hit with the rotor's mighty blast. Standing beside them, I knew to literally hold onto my hat, as I wore a ball cap. I have seen a lot of helicopter landings. It was perfect.
About this time, some fellow Steemians showed up. They, too, knew the little girl. I gave them a rundown of events as we all waited outside the ambulance.
The helicopter was on the ground for 45, long minutes. It remained idling with the blades turning. It was loud enough that I wondered if the first responder guarding the site needed ear muffs, standing only 70 feet away.
Arrangements were made for the parents, for the siblings, and for all of the transportation. Little one was flying over 100 miles away, a 2 hour drive, to a major hospital in another state.
The toddler needed to be strapped to a new stretcher, so at this time I caught my first glimpse of her. She was crying... to me a good sign. Being scared and crying out loud was an improvement over her initial condition when he mom found her. I went back to find my kids, now a large gaggle of folks, standing in the shadows to await the departure.
The take-off was as perfect as the landing. With no wind tonight, the helicopter quickly climbed and headed away to the distant hospital.
I want to thank all of the first responders (some arrived in 5 minutes!) and the medical professionals, pilot, drivers, and policemen who came out. This was a textbook case of everything going right (except the radio link to the pilot). Keep up the good work.
I believe the parents could use prayer right now, both for them and their miraculous little girl. Incidentally, I have a little boy who is the same age as the little girl. I held him in my arms as the helicopter flew away with his playmate inside.
Did you see the helicopter?
Yes.
Do you know who was in it?
Yes.
Who?
He knows her name. He said it, almost inaudibly, as if to say, I hope she's ok, dad.😢
I found out about it when one of my kids told me about blinking red and blue lights next door, out the window. It was about 11:00 pm on a dark, moonless, clear night.
Oh no, I thought of my neighbor's recent medical conditions.
I went outside to find out the details. It was my neighbor's grand-daughter, who lives nearby. By this time, a number of friends and family members had gathered to help and to pray.
As I was talking to friends of the family, I overheard that a helicopter would be coming in 14 minutes. 😪
Since we are in a rural area, there is a pasture next to where the ambulance was idling. Inside, the little one was being treated. Her mom was beside her. Her siblings stood nearby with friends.
Let me explain something to all of the city folks. Where I live, the ambulances do not always simply rush to the nearest and most specific trauma center. The paramedics will typically be in contact with a doctor or specialist, and it is not uncommon to see the ambulance 🚑 remain parked. You may see this for roadside emergencies, too. But if and when a decision is made to transport to a major medical center, this often means a transfer to a helicopter. This can happen at the local volunteer fire station (which has a helo pad) or it may happen in an open field.
The ambulance stayed put rather than transporting the child to the nearest hospital 🏥 30 minutes away. That hospital would be unable to care for the sick girl.
So I was tasked with cutting the barbed wire fence to the pasture.
The first responders made sure there were no livestock (which might be curious) or horses (which might startle) in the field. It just so happened that no cattle were in the field during this season. This meant that the helicopter would land about 100 yards from my house in the neighbor's backyard. The grass was all high, and it had not been cut for a few months.
Thankfully, the weather and temperature and wind were all perfect. I am sure pilots train for difficult circumstances. This had to be a veritable piece of cake. The circumstances were such that my kids were going to be able to get a close view of the landing, even from their bedrooms. But I decided that they should come watch up close. Very close.
They knew the sick girl very well. They had all played with her. I felt that they needed to see her fly away. My kids were about to grow up a little. I told them all to wait while I charged my cell phone, worked with the fence cutters, and checked on the family members.
After some communications problems over the radio, the Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter came into view. It was at medium altitude and had distinct red/green running lights. A spotlight came on. But its first pass was very high as the pilot executed a large circular path with about a kilometer diameter. We were impatient at this point, but I am assuming that the pilot must circle to ensure the safety of everyone, especially landing in unfamiliar, hilly terrain.
Our homestead is on top of a rather large flat plain, which is relatively unusual where I live. I can only imagine the pilot's relief seeing no obstacles of consequence and a field flat enough and large enough to play football. He set it down right where the first responder had signaled, roughly 100 feet (35 m) from a home and the ambulance.
About this time, some fellow Steemians showed up. They, too, knew the little girl. I gave them a rundown of events as we all waited outside the ambulance.
The helicopter was on the ground for 45, long minutes. It remained idling with the blades turning. It was loud enough that I wondered if the first responder guarding the site needed ear muffs, standing only 70 feet away.
Arrangements were made for the parents, for the siblings, and for all of the transportation. Little one was flying over 100 miles away, a 2 hour drive, to a major hospital in another state.
The toddler needed to be strapped to a new stretcher, so at this time I caught my first glimpse of her. She was crying... to me a good sign. Being scared and crying out loud was an improvement over her initial condition when he mom found her. I went back to find my kids, now a large gaggle of folks, standing in the shadows to await the departure.
The take-off was as perfect as the landing. With no wind tonight, the helicopter quickly climbed and headed away to the distant hospital.
I want to thank all of the first responders (some arrived in 5 minutes!) and the medical professionals, pilot, drivers, and policemen who came out. This was a textbook case of everything going right (except the radio link to the pilot). Keep up the good work.
I believe the parents could use prayer right now, both for them and their miraculous little girl. Incidentally, I have a little boy who is the same age as the little girl. I held him in my arms as the helicopter flew away with his playmate inside.
Did you see the helicopter?
Yes.
Do you know who was in it?
Yes.
Who?
He knows her name. He said it, almost inaudibly, as if to say, I hope she's ok, dad.😢