Heppner gazette-times., April 06, 2005, Page Page 4, Image 12

Small But Deadly
It wasn’t the news Jim
was hoping for.
Meanwhile, the Sisters
crew was hard at work
applying a constrictive
band to help reduce
venous return to the
heart. They also started
an IV, knowing the
Air Life team would
need it when the crew
arrived with medication
to combat the venom.
from page 1
Left: Following his release from the hospital last
year, Jacob Gurney displays the marks that medical
personnel used to monitor swelling from the rattlesnake
bite. Below: The whole Gurney family at home (left to
right) Emma, Jim, Chhs, Jonathan, Jacob and Elijah.
But Jacob pulled through. By that
evening, the medication was working
and the swelling had started to
subside. The Air Life team came in
several times to check on their young
patient. Pilot Joe Moys took the
dead snake out of the jar at Jacob’s
pleading, letting him see what had
inflicted the damage.
Rattlesnake bites can be complicated,
and patients can suffer severe allergic
reactions, anaphylactic shock,
and possible death as a result of
the venom injected. Children are
especially vulnerable due to their size,
and quick access to medical attention
is crucial. The faster clinicians can
administer the appropriate drugs, the
better the patient’s odds.
In the past, the antivenin used to treat
rattlesnake bites came with its own set of
complications. Severe allergic reactions
were common, and the serum was
expensive and difficult to mix. But recent
medical advances have produced a new
synthetic version of the old antivenin — a
fact that was at the forefront of Flight
Nurse Deidre Heinrich’s mind when she
first heard the dispatch for Air Life.
“As soon as we got the call, I sprinted
to the pharmacy and got three vials of
Crofab," Deidre explained. “I started
doing the calculations for a pediatric
patient while the pharmacy mixed it.
A big advantage of the Crofab is that
there’s no need to wait for a test dose, so
I knew that would speed things up.”
Air Life arrived at Jacob’s side in 18
minutes. Chris Gurney was cradling her
son in her arms, trying to comfort him in
the back of the Sisters ambulance. The
sound of the helicopter stirred a new fear
in her - a fear that she’d have to let go of
her baby and allow the helicopter crew to
whisk him away from her.
“When they landed and the nurse came
over, she asked, ‘are you the mom?’”
Chris recalled. “I told her yes, and she
said, ‘do you want to come?’ I was so
relieved. She said ‘I’m a mom, too. and
I'd want to be with my kids."
“I kept on asking, ‘do I get to hold
the snake?’ and he let me hold it and
it was dead but it was still moving,”
£ Jacob chirped as his mother grimaced
beside him.
The team quickly loaded Jacob aboard
while Chris settled in for the flight.
Sensing the young mother’s fear,
helicopter pilot Joe Moys handed her a
“pocket angel" token as a small measure
of comfort.
“It gave me something to play with,” she
said. “The dead snake was in a jar at my
feet. I was rubbing Jacob’s feet, and they
gave me a headset so I could hear them
communicating with the hospital."
As Deidre began demarcating Jacob’s
arm, she explained the process to
Chris. Demarcation involves marking
the swelling, along with the time of the
measurement, in permanent marker on
the patient’s skin.
“By the time we got to St. Charles, it
had already swollen more than a couple
inches and was advancing toward
his shoulder," Deidre explained. "One
concern with a snakebite is that it can
become systemic — especially if the
venom has been injected into a vessel.”
The ER team at St. Charles was ready
and waiting when the helicopter landed.
Everyone leapt into action, rushing the
Jacob into the ER for advanced care.
Meanwhile, Jim was making the drive
from Sisters to Bend with a heavy heart.
Membership rates increase for first time in 15 years
Since 1991. Air Life has worked to keep
membership fees at $45 a year. But as
inflation has crept up and medical costs
continue to skyrocket. Air Life recently
made the difficult decision to raise the
cost of membership to $50 a year.
“Consumer inflation has been more
than two-percent a year, and if we’d
followed that trend, we’d have to be
charging $85 year," explained Wanda
Grindstaff. Air Life’s membership
coordinator. “We know that’s not
affordable for our members, but we also
know we have to do something to keep
pace with our own rising costs."
The new membership rate is effective
May 1. For ground/air combination
Having grown up in Alaska, the little
he knew about rattlesnakes wasn’t
good. "I just thought he was dead.” he
admitted. “I was driving the whole way
thinking, “Lord, he’s yours, he always
has been.’”
memberships, rates will increase from
$80 to $90 a year.
“We hope our members will continue
to see the value in membership.”
Wanda added. “As always, when one
of our members is flown by Air Life or
one of our reciprocal partners, we’ll
bill the member's insurance and then
write off any flight costs not covered
by the insurance. The same coverage
applies for our ground members who
are transported by one of our FireMed
affiliated partners."
ACT NOW!
Our rates increase May 1, but if you join today,
you get a year of coverage at our current rate.
Call 1-800-353-0497 or visit us at www.airlife.org.
“Everyone was so wonderful," Chris
added. “Jacob got the best care. I also
appreciate that they waited until later
to deal with the insurance stuff.”
At the time of Jacob’s accident, the
Gurney family was in the process of
changing their insurance plan, and there
was some concern at first that they
might not be covered. But in a stroke
of luck, they learned their new coverage
had kicked in that very morning, and the
plan included coverage for air ambulance
service. Even so, the grateful Gurney
family bought an Air Life membership as
soon as they got home.
Jacob went home the day after his arrival
at St. Charles with no long-term effects
from his mishap. “The doctor said it was
going to be fine because Air Life got the
antivenin in him early.” Chris added.
“They said if it had taken longer to get
him the medication, he might’ve lost
mobility or worse.”
But the only side effect the family has
noticed is Jacob’s renewed fascination for
all things that slither. “While we were still
in the hospital, he asked if we could go
to the pet store and get a snake.” Chris
said. “He loves snakes - he picks out
every snake book at the library and he
draws pictures of them at school.”
But Jacob understands one important
thing now. “Some snakes aren't good
snakes,” he declared.