Patients saved by STARS reflect on 10-year anniversary

Imagine being in a serious, life-threatening accident while you’re out at the lake, far from a hospital.

Many Saskatchewan residents are alive today because of STARS air ambulance.

The air ambulance service is celebrating its 10th year of operating in Saskatchewan.

Carrie Derin was one of the first patients STARS saved in Saskatchewan, a decade ago.

She was on a family trip in Kenosee, when she got into an accident with her ATV.

“(We were) going down a logging road and it just so happened that there was a fallen tree on the road. I ran my quad right into it, which impaled the quad and me,” she recalled. “So we were pretty much stuck out there.

“At that time, there was no cell service, and very (few) communication types. So (there was) not a lot that you could do for first aid out there.”

Her husband went off and managed to find someone in a nearby park. They eventually got the STARS helicopter there, and crews started the work to save her life.

But that wasn’t all they did.

“I was awake the whole time to watch the helicopter land. They jumped out and cared for me, and the pilots went to my family, which was amazing. That’s what my kids remember, is the fact that they were also engaged and told me what was happening,” Derin said.

It’s something she’ll be forever grateful for.

“Ten years later, I’ve been able to celebrate so many things: My kids growing up and becoming successful. My 50th birthday. I never really thought, after my accident, that would happen, (celebrating) anniversaries (and) things like that,” she continued.

Derin is even still friends with some of the crew members who saved her life.

“It’s a very special connection,” she explained.

Derin has a lot in common with 18-year-old Draedon Faubert.

On his 16th birthday, he was in a brutal car accident.

“We rolled and I flew out the back window 50 metres from the car. It took them three hours to find me,” he said.

He was seriously hurt, to the point that doctors weren’t sure he would make it.

It was a night that haunts his dad, Chris.

“You get that phone call in the middle of the night. It’s basically panic,” he said. “Draedon suffered numerous physical (injuries). He had two broken femurs (and) a serious brain injury. They were preparing us for the worst. There weren’t good odds that he was going to pull through.”

But thanks to STARS, Draedon was able to get to the hospital. It was a long road to recovery with Draedon spending months in the hospital, but things are now on the upswing.

“The expectation was that he would be in a wheelchair and might not have very much brain activity. But he pulled through all of that, and now here he is. He’s walking, talking, eating,” Chris said.

Stories like those illustrate how important the air ambulance service is.

But while it’s an incredibly important job, it can be a tough one.

Koos Rossouw has been working with STARS in Saskatchewan since around the time it launched in the province.

In that time, he has been on the scene of many tragic accidents, including the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

“We do try and limit our emotions (and) try not to get emotionally involved,” he said. “Sometimes, as a human, that’s extremely difficult to do. But you really just want to do what’s best for the patient at the end of the day.”