A Life-saving Ride

On June 25, 2014, Chad Rogers was heading out into the field to go bale hay. He remembers the day was hot and sunny, the perfect weather for baling. Rogers drove his tractor with an attached baler out to the section of land, but he needed to open a gate before getting into the field. Rogers said he knew the emergency brake on the tractor was failing, and when he started opening the gate, that’s when he heard the brake release. “I knew what I was doing was a terribly bad idea, but I just couldn’t stop myself,” Rogers said. “Immediately, I turned and ran after the tractor thinking I could get on and get in to stop it (the tractor). One of the main reasons I think that I went after it (the tractor), it was pointing directly at the main water source for the cows, which was the dugout, and I know that if it had got in there, it was going to be big trouble. I took after it.” Rogers ran to the tractor, but when he was attempting to get into the cab, he was pulled underneath. Both the tractor and the baler ran over him. Rogers said he remembers looking at himself, and he couldn’t see any blood and could move his feet. He said he knew he’d be alright and then pulled out his cell phone. He didn’t have enough cell service to make a call, but he was able to send a text to his mom that read, “call 9-1-1.” A ground ambulance transported Rogers to Moose Jaw. But when he arrived, the ER doctor realized Rogers’ injuries were worse than expected, and he needed to go to Regina immediately. Rogers had a broken pelvis. “He literally cinched my pelvis back together by tying the bed sheet together.” That’s when STARS air ambulance was called to fly Rogers to Regina. “Things were failing,” Rogers said. “Blood pressure was down. They had thrown three units of blood in me.” Rogers underwent emergency surgery and was transported to Saskatoon. Rogers was in the hospital for six weeks, but within six months, he was back to work at Young’s Equipment, where he works as the parts manager. He said he has full mobility, which he is thankful for, as he is a father to two children. An outcome that could have been different if the crew with STARS couldn’t get him into emergency surgery right away. “The speed is just the biggest thing. It is truly life-saving and life-changing,” Rogers said. “It's just such a good organization, and everyone is just happy to be there, and they are truly there for the people.” “It offers time and the level of care,” Darcy McKay, Provincial Director, Operations, STARS air ambulance, said. “The quicker you can get that patient, the farmer, whoever is in the field to tertiary care, the better the outcome. We are obviously quicker with the helicopter. It’s faster and can fly in a straight line. The best thing is it can land right beside that combine or whatever farm implement they are using.

McKay said the helicopters are equipped with specialized equipment that not all hospitals in the province carry. While Rogers was in the Moose Jaw hospital, his doctor had to take a sheet and tie it tightly around his pelvis to prevent further internal bleeding. McKay said the medical device Rogers needed is called a pelvic binder, and all STARS helicopters carry one. “It's kind of like a brace that holds the pelvis together,” McKay said. “When you break your pelvis, they contain an enormous amount of blood, and you can easily perish if you bleed. And the other thing we carry that some other places don't carry is blood. We carry four bags of O negative blood. That again extends the time so we can get you onto a surgical table.” STARS has operated in Saskatchewan for ten years. The helicopters have advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to find the location of the injured person. “I've also worked in ground ambulance as well, so I can tell you the difference,” McKay said. “We are driving in a farmer's field with a patient like Chad with a broken pelvis, and you imagine all the bumps and stuff, even if you have painkillers onboard stuff is just excruciating for that patient. When you can land right next to him, give him something for the pain, keep them stabilized and, hopefully, get him to the hospital alive, you know, it makes a huge difference, landing right beside them.”