Very Important Patients

Brandon Hemerle was on a cattle drive when the horse he was riding spooked and fell down an embankment, landing with Brandon underneath. Brandon’s back was severely injured, resulting in a STARS response.

Emma Menyer and a friend were travelling home after a long weekend vacation. Emma was resting in the back of the car when they were struck by a train. Due of the severity of her injuries and the risk of travelling by ground with a fractured neck, STARS was called.

After passing out while on a family vacation, Broc Higginson was rushed to a local hospital. After discovering that undiagnosed brain tumours had triggered a seizure, STARS was called to rapidly transport Broc to a major hospital for neurosurgery.

For Christine Aarsby, the birth of her daughter Addy had been planned as a joyous day for her and her family. Moments after Addy was born via C-section, the situation worsened after Christine suffered a rare complication.

Deep in the rugged mountains of northern B.C., two hunters left their riverside camp in pursuit of stone sheep. Neither could have predicted a major heart attack would derail everything. Reaching and providing critical care to STARS Very Important Patient Doug MacTavish would soon become the focus of the longest helicopter mission ever flown by STARS.

Rapid response and skilled hands make a difference in a traumatic injury. After being involved in a violent incident at school, STARS Very Important Patient Reyez Rowan was quickly cared for by our talented Air Medical Crew. Leveraging years of experience and knowledge, our team worked to stop Reyez’s massive blood loss and get him to surgery. A few weeks later, he walked on to the golf course.

Kelly Waldron has the distinction of being the first STARS Very Important Patient. In December 1985, Kelly was born prematurely at 27 weeks and required critical care at a larger hospital. The newly operational STARS responded, and our story has been connected to Kelly ever since.

Being out in nature, on his bike, has always been one of Willem van Lankvelt's favourite activities. During what Willem thought was going to be a pleasant afternoon on his bike during a family vacation, his ride took a life-threatening turn when he was struck by a truck.

In May 2004, Carla Minogue was working as the designated traffic flagger for a road crew repairing a section of the Trans-Canada Highway in a rural community. A car struck her from behind while she was loading cones into her truck. As her crew members rushed to remove her from the wreckage, a call was placed to 911 who alerted STARS Emergency Link Centre that an air medical crew was needed.

Taylor Munroe was enjoying a long weekend in the countryside when an off-road adventure with a friend took a tragic twist. A few years after his incident, Munroe visited STARS to reunite with the crew members from his mission. “I’m living my second chance. I’m grateful for every moment. I’m amazingly grateful for STARS, because if I didn’t get the treatment I did when I did, I might not have been able to do any of those things. They helped change my life.”

STARS is more than transport. Whether by air, ground or virtually, the expert care delivered by our doctors, nurses and paramedics comes in many forms. Just ask STARS Very Important Patient Rory Stewart, who credits STARS for helping save his life.

After a weekend camping trip with friends went wrong, my life changed drastically. A tree fell on my tent during a violent windstorm and in one split second everything was different.