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Air Currents
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Going Under
a mixture of joy and terror in that moment.
scene like that, but something told me I
should see what I could do," he said.
“When I got there, they already had him in
the back of the ambulance doing CPR.”
“I was almost frightened when we got a
blood pressure and a pulse,” she recalls. “1
thought, “what are we going to have now, a
vegetative state?’ He'd been down so long."
Wallowa County Hospital Ambulance
Director Bruce Womack was working fran
tically to save Kennisen. In his 20-year
career, Bruce has been called to several
child drownings. All of them died, and
Bruce feared Kennisen would be another.
“He looked dead,” he said. “To be honest, I
didn’t hold out much hope."
The Air Life crew quickly whisked Kennisen
to the airport, trying to soothe Colby as
they worked feverishly to stabilize her son.
As the clinical crew worked their magic
aboard the Pilatus PC-12, Colby watched
“They had him sedated, but he kept try
ing to push himself up on the bed and
yank the tubes out," Colby recalls.
“They’d said he wouldn’t do that. I went
to him and said, ‘mommy’s here,’ and I
put my arms around him and he went
to sleep."
“Every EMT, every CNA, the anes
thetist, the surgery team, the pharma
cist, the nurses, and even a medical
resident from OHSU - everyone was
doing everything they knew to do,”
recalls Gail.
Flight Nurse Brad Saxton, RN, was at
Air Life’s Northeast Oregon base in
La Grande when the call came in.
“They put us on standby,” he recalls.
“Hearing the scenario though, I thought we
should self-activate and fly over to
Enterprise, just in case they needed us.”
So when nurses felt the first flutter of a
pulse, the Air Life crew was at Kennisen’s
side in seconds. Gail Johnson remembers
“I told Air Traffic Control we needed to
expedite this one as much as possible," he
recalls. “They were really helpful.”
It was a dark time, but ten days later,
Kennisen was discharged from the hos
pital. Today, the vivacious two-year-old
shows no signs of neurological damage.
Undersheriff Steve Rogers has a picture
in his office of Kennisen frolicking on
the beach just a few months after the
accident. Gail Johnson and Bruce
Womack have their own photos of
Kennisen displayed prominently at their
desks - a constant reminder that positive
outcomes are possible even in the bleakest
traumas.
Colby glanced nervously out the window as
the plane soared over her home, headed for
Boise. The Air Life team fought to warm
Kennisen and maintain his vital signs.
“I’ve been a part of a lot of codes, but I’ve
never been a part of anything like this,”
Bruce said. “You get one of these once in a
career."
“In some ways, the hypothermia can save
people," explained Doug Ferguson, respira
tory therapist on Kennisen's flight. “It
shuts down the whole metabolic process
and can actually preserve function. That
was one thing that gave us hope."
For the Knifong family, there’s no question
a miracle took place on that June day. “If I
had known this was going to happen, I
couldn’t possibly have orchestrated it bet
ter," Colby said. “The care we received from
everyone was beyond excellent. Everyone
was in the right place at the right time to
save Kennisen.”
The Knifongs spend a spring afternoon in Kennisen's sandbox.
helplessly. In the cockpit, pilot Julian
Pridmore-Brown got the aircraft in the air.
The flight to Boise was lightning fast. In a
Baker City is Air Life’s newest partner
In April, Baker City Fire became the eleventh ground
ambulance agency to sign an agreement to co-market
ground/air memberships with Air Life of Oregon.
So what does that mean for you? If you live in the Baker
City ambulance service area, you can now buy a Baker
City FireMed membership for $45 (a $4 savings) or a
ground/air combo membership for $80 (a $10 savings).
“Combo memberships make
a lot of sense, because most
people who need emergency
flight also require transport
from a ground ambulance
agency," explained Wanda
Grindstaff, Air Life’s mem
bership coordinator. “With
the combo membership, the
entire family is protected
from the cost of both
ground and air transport
with our member agencies."
Do you live in one of the
service areas listed at right?
Then you’re eligible to buy a
ground/air combo
membership. Call 1-800-
353-0497 for details.
When the family arrived, things didn’t look
good. Colby still has a copy of the doctor’s
notes predicting a grim outcome. “He said
we’ll give him 24 hours to see if any neuro
logical recovery can happen at all,” Colby
recalls.
But Kennisen fought hard. After five
days on life support, he began to give
his family a faint glimmer of hope.
Dr. Euhus jumped in the ambulance
with Bruce and his crew, and they tore
off toward the hospital. Bruce worked
to intubate Kennisen while Dr. Euhus
assisted with CPR. When they pulled
up at the hospital, everyone leapt into
action. Devee Boyd, MD, Kennisen’s
family doctor was waiting in the ER
and he and Dr. Euhus went to work.
For an hour and thirty minutes,
everyone poured every ounce of
strength into reviving Kennisen. Nurses
struggled to warm his frigid body while
doctors tried desperately to resuscitate
him. Still, they couldn’t even get a pulse.
The team pressed on, hoping for a miracle.
In the midst of the action, someone called
Air Life to see if the team was available.
startling twist of fate, the doctor on call
that day happened to be a cold-water
drowning expert. As Colby waited helpless
ly at St. Luke’s in Boise, Ken and the rest
of their family made the harrowing four-
hour drive to Boise.
AIR LIFE
GROUND PARTNERS
♦ Baker City FireMed
♦ Black Butte Ranch RFPD
♦ Blue Mountain Hospital
Ambulance
♦ City of La Grande Fire
Department (Medic One)
♦ Crook County RFPD
♦ Harney District EMS
♦ La Pine Fire District
♦ Redmond Fire & Rescue
♦ Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD
♦ Sunriver Fire
♦ Wallowa County Ambulance
Service
Are you a member?
■
m
•
■ ■ #
t
j—
L
If not, joining Air Life is as easy as 1 -2-3
^
/ n it
•
Are you confused by the concept of Air Life membership? Have you been
meaning to join but aren’t quite sure how? You’re not alone.
Here’s how it works: you pay $45 a year for membership for an entire
family (defined as husband, wife, and unmarried, dependent children
under 23). If a member of your family needs emergency air transport
from Air Life or any of our reciprocal partners*, we'll bill your insurance
(if any) for the cost of the flight. Air Life will absorb what isn't covered by
insurance. Yon pay nothing out-of-pocket! Flight charges can range
from $6,000 to $17,000, so membership can offer big savings.
There are several ways to join A ir Life:
♦ Join online at www.airiife.org using your credit card.
♦ Pick up a brochure in your community, fill out the application, and
mail it with your payment. (Can’t find a brochure? Call us!)
♦ Call our business office and pay with your debit or credit card.
Informatiort: I -800-353-0497
Ask us about participating ground EMS programs, too!
Baker City FireMed ♦ Black Butte Ranch RFPD ♦ Blue Mountain Hospital Ambulance ♦ City of La
Grande Fire Dept. ♦ Crook County RFPD ♦ Harney District EMS ♦ La Pine Fire District ♦ Redmond
Fire & Rescue ♦ Slsters-Camp Sherman RFPD ♦ Sunriver Fire ♦ Wallowa County Ambulance Service
BONUS' The first 50 new ground or air members to mention this ad get a FREE GIFT!
♦ Reciprocal partners Include Life Flight Network o f Portland. Ore.; Life Flight o f Boise. Idaho; Merry Air
Ambulance o f Redding. CaUf; Wyoming Life Flight o f Casper. Wyo.; Portneuf Life Flight o f Pocatello.
Idaho; A ir St. Lukes o f Boise. Idaho: Enioe Flight Care o f Chico. Calif.; and CALSTAR o f Northern Calif.