GETTYSBURG – National Grateful Patient Day, celebrated on Sept. 7, is a day to recognize and appreciate caregivers and those in the medical profession. While patients are often grateful for the care provided, it’s rare that they can personally thank the teams who save their lives.
This summer, however, WellSpan WellFlight’s former patient Karen Bowling did just that, visiting the base in Gettysburg to express her heartfelt gratitude to the air medical team for not only saving her life but for continuously serving their community with unwavering dedication.
“There is no doubt in my mind that there are courageous angels among us, better known as the team making up our local emergency medical services,” said Bowling. “My first line of lifesaving care was from Adams Regional Emergency Services and WellFlight 2-8. I can’t appreciate them enough for helping to save my life after a freak accident.”
In May, Bowling was gardening when she lost balance, and the garden clippers she had in her hand impaled her chest when she fell. The blades of the clipper landed just under the top of her sternum and pierced her heart sac one inch deep, nicking the heart muscle and collapsing her lung.
Luckily, her husband was home to call emergency services. Upon the arrival of Adams Regional Emergency Services, they recognized Bowling needed immediate critical care and transported her to the WellFlight base in Gettysburg for rapid transport to WellSpan York Hospital. After three surgeries, multiple weeks of physical therapy, and recovery, Bowling has made a remarkable recovery.
“My energy level isn’t 100 percent, but I have resumed gardening, cooking, biking, traveling, lunching, loving family and friends, playing with my horse and living,” Bowling said. “These were extremely caring and skilled people who tended to me and promoted a path to survival. I can’t express enough gratitude and provide enough recognition to these emergency workers for their skilled hands and level heads in a crisis. Whether they know it or not, in my mind, they are powerful angels with invisible wings.”
The WellFlight team is certified and has state-of-the-art specialty care training that provides the same level of care one would receive in the hospital during air medical transport from the scene or for interfacility transports. Equipped with industry-leading equipment and medical devices, the team carries and has the ability to administer whole blood in flight, provide advanced airway intervention, cardiac and blood flow monitoring, medication administration, and other advanced surgical procedures. WellFlight is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems – the highest standards in safety, clinical practice, quality assurance,and training in the industry. They provide lifesaving services without requiring a membership to avoid a costly bill.
