Merry Christmas. Try To Stay Alive.

"You're on standby for an MVA at ******.
I have no further information for you at this time."

A few moments later the phone rings again...
"Your flight is a go, but they now want you to meet them at the hospital there."
That means our ETA is too long for their conditions and they want help with their patient sooner than we can arrive.

We take off on the 19 minute flight. From dispatch-
"I still have no information on your patient."
This ground crew obviously has their hands full.

We arrive at the hospital and my crew makes their way to the ER.
As routine, I shut the engines down, secure the aircraft, and make my way to the ER to assist in whatever way I can. The door to the trauma room is closed. Outside the door in a wheelchair sits a late-20ish woman with two women in scrubs providing moral support. The woman is obviously emotionally distraught.
The trauma room door opens and I hear what sounds like the heart monitor they hooked up to Sara Jean when Big Bubba was about to be born. It is really loud, but since I don't hear a discernible heartbeat I question what I'm hearing.

I recognize the Doctor coming out the door and nod to him. He makes his way to the woman in the wheelchair and says, "We're still doing CPR on him, and I'll continue to do whatever I can to help him."

Family arrives...
It's the woman in the wheelchair's Mom and Dad. Dad is carrying a pumpkin-seed carrier containing a few-months old baby. The woman takes the baby from the pumpkin seed and holds it to her chest, sobbing.

My crew comes out of the room, looks at me and shakes their head. We won't be transporting.

He was 27 years old, helmetless, riding his ATV on the highway. Crossing the centerline and hitting a pickup truck head-on under these conditions is not conducive to good health.

Less than a week before Christmas, he has left behind a widow and a baby that will have absolutely no recollection of him... a tragedy at anytime... a particular tragedy when his death will be associated with a time that should bring joy and happiness.

My "Pitchpull" reading friends...
Please use good sense:
-Seatbelts.
-Helmets on two/four wheelers.
-Stay out from behind the wheel after alcohol consumption.

I'm working three of the next five days. I don't want you horizontal in the back of my BK117!

Be safe everyone.