Misty’s memories from the day of her accident are fragmented. The last thought she recalls is, “This is going to hurt.” On her way home from a day shift with a local ambulance service on the Oregon Coast, a swerving driver veered into her lane, causing a head-on collision. Misty was ejected through the rear driver’s side door and found wedged between the door and the back tire.

Knappa Fire Department, where Misty volunteers, responded to the scene. “That’s what happens when you work in a small town,” she later said. Misty was barely responsive, moaning in pain. Fire Chief Kurt Donaldson made the call to transport her to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, Oregon to meet Life Flight Network. “You guys were so fast, it was amazing,” Misty recalled. Chief Donaldson added, “Because of Life Flight Network, she’s alive.”

Within 15 minutes of dispatch, Life Flight Network had arrived at the hospital and had Misty on her way to Portland’s Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) for definitive care. Her injuries were extensive: 20 broken ribs; a left-sided hemopneumothorax and flail segment (broken segment of ribs that moves independently from the rest of the ribcage); fractures to her right kidney, liver, spleen, and pelvis; lumbar fractures; and gastrointestinal damage. A trauma surgeon at OHSU later told her that without the rapid response from first responders, Columbia Memorial Hospital staff, and Life Flight Network’s speed and care, she wouldn’t have survived.

Though Misty will have lasting impairments, she credits Life Flight Network for giving her the chance to live for her husband of 20 years, her children, and her new grandchild. She now spends her time watching her son play high school sports, enjoying being a first-time grandmother, and continuing to volunteer at Knappa Fire Department as an EMT Intermediate. She also teaches EMS classes at the local college. “It may sound cheesy,” she says, “but I love helping take care of my community.”