Rapid transport means better patient outcomes

All parents worry when their children start driving.  David and Ann Goulette of Dexter are no exception, but by the time their fourth child got behind the wheel they were becoming a bit more relaxed about the process.  When 16 year Shawn headed out to visit friends, his mother said, “Drive carefully, Shawn.”  Later, when he left his sister’s house, her family shared the same caution.  “Drive safe, Shawn.”  As Shawn drove home, it was already dark. The road was bumpy. There was a corner. An impact with a telephone pole caused the pole to burst into flames.  And then a phone call every parent fears.  An unidentified Good Samaritan had come upon the scene of the accident and called for rescue.  By the time the family arrived, the ambulance and fire truck was already there. 

Mrs. Goulette shared, “It looked like a tree was growing out of the middle of the car.”  At first Shawn was lucid, conscious, talking and offering to “jump on the stretcher”.  But he had serious head and facial injuries and had broken both collar bones.  As sometimes happens with head injuries, his situation began to deteriorate. 

The Ambulance quickly transported Shawn to the Sebasticook Valley Hospital (SVH) Emergency Department in Pittsfield, where he was immediately evaluated and stabilized by the emergency trained physicians and nurses.  Within minutes LifeFlight was notified and Shawn was on his way to EMMC in Bangor where he was treated for the next six days.

“The crew was top notch.  We understood we couldn’t go with him in the helicopter but we knew he was being taken care of and he had everything he needed”, Ann recalled.

“I don’t remember the first few days,” Shawn shared and then talked about the wonderful support and prayers he received from his family and friends, teachers and fellow classmates.  Shawn was visited often and Dexter High students and teachers sent a huge poster of get well greetings that had been circulated around the school.

After weeks of recovery from cuts, fractured bones, and an iris tear (that had been repaired with laser eye surgery the night of the accident), and repair of broken braces, Shawn was anxious to get back to the life of a high school junior.  “Can I go snowboarding?” he asked his doctor.  “Not yet, Shawn.”

But before long Shawn was back at school and running spring track.  After catching up on the homework he missed, Shawn was able to earn the best score of his entire Math Team and attained highest honors for the last quarter.  He also acted in his school play, “Into the Wood” and was elected president for his senior class this year.  What’s next for Shawn after high school?  He’s considering a career in engineering or medicine and has job shadowed a radiologist but he’s not sure yet.  Like many teens, he keeps himself busy with school, working part time and spending time with family and friends - something his family wasn’t sure would ever be possible during the first critical hours after his accident.

Mrs. Goulette shared, “I can’t thank everyone enough.  It was all seamless.  The ambulance, SVH emergency department, LifeFlight, and EMMC, his doctors and all the staff.  And the person who helped him on the road that night.”

CREW MEMBERS
CommSpec Beth Mazerolle : Pilot John Marino
Nurse Donna Bulger : Paramedic Kevin Burkholder