““The level of care was top notch. They kept me warm, as I’d been laying in the snow for an hour and a half. I wasn’t out of it, I didn’t lose consciousness but I wasn’t all there either. Everyone was so nice and so thoughtful, and kept me informed with everything they were doing as they were doing it. Believe it or not, for such a horrible experience, my rescue out of there was a good experience.””
On April 13, TCSAR Foundation will be launching its annual Heli-Yes! campaign to help ensure Teton County Search & Rescue volunteers are trained to the highest possible standards so that our community continues to have reliable emergency helicopter service.
Over the next four weeks, the Foundation will be challenging the community to raise money for TCSAR’s emergency helicopter program. An anonymous local donor has generously offered a match gift of up to $35,000. This means that every dollar that gets donated will be matched, effectively doubling each contribution until we meet our challenge. With the Teton County Sheriff’s Office budgeting for eight months of TCSAR’s helicopter service, the Heli-Yes! campaign ensures that volunteers have the training and personal flight equipment they need to execute life-saving missions.
As the Jackson Hole backcountry continues to see record numbers of visitors, the helicopter enables TCSAR volunteers to quickly and efficiently respond to life-threatening injuries. But it takes great commitment and training for the volunteers to keep themselves and their patients safe, all while providing professional medical care in the field.
This winter alone, TCSAR used the helicopter 20 times—the second winter in a row that the team has seen such high frequency with the ship—with at least 10 of those missions being life or death scenarios.
Kevin Flueger, a 33-year-old Jackson resident, was one of those rescued this winter after breaking his leg while skiing in the backcountry south of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
“Without the helicopter, that could’ve shaped up to be one of the worst days of my life,” Flueger says. “But it was so smooth and so quick that I was at the ambulance within an hour of breaking my leg. It took something that was scary and potentially deadly, and became something that was not that bad of an experience.”
Eva Murphy, a 68-year-old ER nurse from Memphis, Tenn., echoed that sentiment. She suffered potentially life-threatening injuries, including a broken femur, after crashing on her snowmobile in the Granite Creek drainage in January. The TCSAR helicopter team was able to land near her and transport her quickly out of the backcountry.
“The level of care was top notch,” Murphy says of TCSAR. “They kept me warm, as I’d been laying in the snow for an hour and a half. I wasn’t out of it, I didn’t lose consciousness but I wasn’t all there either. Everyone was so nice and so thoughtful, and kept me informed with everything they were doing as they were doing it. Believe it or not, for such a horrible experience, my rescue out of there was a good experience.”
By donating to Heli-Yes! you are investing in TCSAR volunteers' ability to continue to take on complex missions and reunite loved ones with their families and friends.
Thank you for helping our heli fly.
For more on Heli-Yes! and to contribute, please visit TetonCountySAR.org/heli-yes.