Jim Young
Jim Young had done this countless times before. The darned tractor wouldn’t fire up, so he’d just jump it with a screwdriver.
This time, though, the 72-year-old farmer didn’t realize it was in gear.
Jim stood with his son Kent in front of the left rear tire, bridged the starter’s contacts — and the tractor lurched to life, heaving forward.
Both men were knocked down. As Kent scrambled up, his dad was already under the 5,000-kg machine. A cultivator was connected, its many shovels advancing toward Jim as he struggled on the ground.
“I had to wait for the tractor to climb over top of him,” said Kent. “And then I pulled him out of the way.”
Kent stopped the rig on the edge of a full dugout, rejoined his dad, and dialed 911. STARS was alerted.
“We know if a farmer is calling for an ambulance, it’s probably a serious situation,” said STARS flight paramedic Jeremy Mandoli, on shift in Grande Prairie, 100 km away from the Young acreage north of Valleyview, Alta.
“I’m from the old school,” Jim said. “I fix up my own cuts and bruises. But in this particular accident, there was no fixing it up.”
Community, emergency crews, and family rallied. Police marshalled, fire crews prepped a helicopter landing zone, and ground medics readied Jim for STARS. Dangerously low blood pressure and a swelling abdomen pointed to major internal bleeding.
STARS flight nurse David Vultaggio remembers landing in the farmyard.
“Jim was pale. White as a ghost. His skin was very sweaty, and in the context of trauma and bleeding, those signs are very concerning,” he said.
The STARS air medical crew (AMC) began infusing blood they’d brought along. As Jim was loaded into the helicopter, they started a second unit. His blood pressure didn’t improve.
Jim urgently needed the operating room (OR) at Edmonton’s University of Alberta Hospital, and there wasn’t enough blood for the hourlong flight.
Allies, including the STARS Emergency Link Centre and the Northern Communications Centre, found a solution. Jim would bypass standard hospital intake and go straight to the OR, and Whitecourt hospital, halfway to Edmonton, would avail two units of blood for STARS en route.
When STARS captain Paula Quiroga landed the helicopter in Whitecourt, co-pilot Eldon Schoenroth hopped out, received a cooler of blood from over a fence, and promptly returned.
Total time on the ground: less than three minutes.
Mandoli and Vultaggio got to work giving Jim the new units as the flight resumed, but his blood pressure still didn’t improve.
“The AMC asked more than once, ‘Are we there yet?’” said Quiroga. “It reinforced how time critical this mission was.”
When the helicopter finally arrived in Edmonton, the OR team was waiting on the helipad with another unit of blood. They began infusing it and whisked him straight to surgery.
Jim remained conscious the entire time.
“As we’re transferring him to the surgical table,” said Vultaggio, “he’s asking us how he can continue to support STARS and donate or get a calendar.”
Mandoli mused, “It’s one of those things that will always stay with me from that mission. We couldn’t do this without our donors.”
Thanks to allied coordination and expertise, Jim survived. He spent several months in hospital and endured a difficult recovery at home but eventually was back on his feet, looking no worse for wear.
“If it wasn’t for you STARS donors out there, I wouldn’t be alive to this day,” Jim said. “I’ve got to thank you all. Immensely.”
A Chance Meeting
Months after his accident, Jim Young attended a friend’s going-away barbecue, where the host asked guests to introduce themselves. One said he was a STARS pilot, and Jim approached to express his gratitude.
It was Eldon Schoenroth, one of the pilots from his mission, and both men were amazed by the chance reunion.
“It was a miracle to meet the pilot,” said Jim. “It was another miracle to be alive to do that.”
“It’s just a wonderful feeling,” said Schoenroth. “The man walks around without any impediment at all. He’s feeling great, he’s loving life, and it was really wonderful to see that.”
The encounter prompted a visit to the STARS base in Grande Prairie, where the Youngs chatted with all four crew members from Jim’s mission.
“This is the most rewarding flying that I’ve done in my career,” said pilot Paula Quiroga. “Knowing that you’ve helped save someone’s life is truly special.”
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