Alexis Moore

Alexis Moore was just four years old when a playground mishap sent her to the hospital — and then into STARS care.

It started out innocently enough — just kids being kids, having a blast on a swing.

“A bunch of older kids were on it, and I decided to try it,” said Alexis, now double the age. ​“Unfortunately, it flipped back on me, and I landed on my head.”

Her dad Jerred said this wasn’t any ordinary tumble.

“It wasn’t very far, but it was accelerated,” he said. A sharp downward swoop of his arm punctuated his explanation: ​“Head into the floor.”

Her mom Renee was quick to arrive at Alexis’s side and chose to take her to the nearest rural hospital. During the drive, things went from bad to worse.

“It was 17 minutes from the time it happened to the time she became unresponsive,” said Renee. ​“There were no ambulances in the area. And while at the hospital, I heard them say words like ​‘intubate’, ​‘possible seizure’, ​‘she’s not speaking.’”

Then Jerred, who had met them at the hospital, heard staff say it was time to call STARS.

“This may be the last time I’m holding my daughter,” was a thought he recalled running through his head.

Both parents remember the STARS crew — flight nurse Brittany Foy and flight paramedic John Bly — arriving and expertly stabilizing Alexis for the trip to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.

“When you see the actual team hands-on in a crisis situation, dealing with a four-year-old, two parents, staff at a hospital, and they’re checking in to see how you’re doing — well, I’m going to admit I probably was in shock a little bit,” said Renee.

“As the helicopter left, we looked up and we watched it, and I just kept thinking, ​‘She’s in good hands. They’re the ones that can help her now.’”

While in the air, Foy texted the parents and said Alexis was doing well, encouraging them to drive safely to the Stollery.

They did, and Jerred remembers stepping into Alexis’s room and being shocked at her state.

“The last time I’d seen her, she couldn’t speak. She was unconscious. And now she’s dancing and singing her ​‘Thank you for everything you do’ song,” he said. ​“Every day I see my daughter, I just treasure that.”

It wasn’t the end of the Moore family’s involvement with STARS, though.

Alexis soon launched a lemonade stand to raise money for STARS and was so successful that her name was included amongst the donors printed on the side of a retired STARS K117 helicopter now on display in the Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary.

“It’s because it saves people’s lives,” said Alexis, a bubbly, happy, and articulate kid. ​“I know that for a fact. It saved mine when I was four, so that’s why I decided to do it.”

Renee was grateful for STARS and for the people who have supported her daughter’s efforts to give back.

“STARS was there when we needed them,” she said. ​“I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supports STARS.”