Life Flight comes to Leetonia

Lifeflight

Landing

 It started out like any other Labor day weekend full of fun at the Bonitz camp. Abby Creamer jumped on her dad's 4-wheeler and in less than 10 seconds changed everything.

According to her mom LeAnn Creamer, " She got on my husbands atv and in 10 seconds she hit a weird bump and fell off. She is so lucky. She is okay. They are keeping her at geisinger till Wednesday for observation. She has bruised lungs a small laceration on her liver, a broken pinky that needs surgery and a concussion. Morris Fire dept were so awesome. They landed the helicopter right in the yard. It was so scary."

Morris Fireman Packing Abby for flight

Loading Abby in Helicopter

 When you get hurt up here you aren't 10 minutes from a hospital or help. It will be a minimum of an hour to see any emergency help. It is then another hour to a local hospital or if they call Life Flight about thirty minutes to get them and another 30 to fly you to Geisinger. I can tell you from personal experience, you want to be at a Trauma 1 center like Geisinger if you are hurt bad.

According to Bob Paul who took all these nice pictures and contacted me, Abby was knocked out by her accident. It looks like from the list of her injuries was indeed lucky not to have a more serious head injury.

From personal experience I can tell you, flying in the helicopter as a patient is a bit wierd. They put you in the belly of the beast with just enough room for you. Your head comes up between a nurse's legs. Stuff is within about 18" of the top of you and there is a small but not enjoyable window to your side. You really have no idea of what is happening or where you are going. In my case drugs they gave me helped a lot with that issue. No one else can come with you. So you take off leaving them about a 2 hour drive behind you.

When you land at Geisinger you are wheeled in and looked at by everyone in the hospital(or at least it feels that way).  They poke and prod at you and put you through machines. You feel very alone until your family arrives. I thought a lot about how scared Abby must have felt being alone in the ER until her family came.

Then the family worried sick, imagining the worst, drives the longest drive of their life. That two hours to Geisinger seems like eight.

Flying away to Geisinger

After it is over and a few days have passed. You realize how quickly life can change and if you and your loved one made it through the accident, how lucky you are. You never see a Life Flight helicopter again the same way. And you deeply appreciate all the care and concern conveyed to you by the medical people.

Leetonia is a wonderful place to live, but now and then it reminds us all just how isolated and dangerous it can be. Even with all this the last picture says it all.

A bear showed up during all the action. With all the firefighters, ambulance, helicopters and people, she just strode up to see what was happening. Maybe she went back to her cubs and told them,

Local Bear making sure rescue goes well

"Those humans have the strangest parties. You better stay away, cause a big bird came down and hauled one of them off into the sky."

Another day in Leetonia. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.