Cindi Long

Cindi Long doesn’t know what caused her side-by-side to flip, but she remembers demanding two things after it happened: “Get my glasses and get STARS.”

It was calving season on the Long ranch near Oyen, Alta., and Cindi and her soon-to-be-husband Tim Long noticed a first-time mother cow had wandered off without its newborn.

Cindi tied up the calf, put in a side-by-side all-terrain vehicle, and headed into the pasture, toward the oblivious mom. But soon, the calf stood up, so Cindi retied it and resumed the trek.

“I didn’t put my seatbelt back on,” she said. “I wasn’t going very far.”

Moments later, for reasons still unclear to her, the side-by-side suddenly flipped, trapping Cindi beneath its roll-cage.

The calf was unhurt. Cindi was not.

Just ahead in a pickup was Tim. He’d partially seen the mishap in his rearview mirror and spun back, straining to heft the vehicle just enough for Cindi to drag herself free. Then he called 911.

“I said, ‘You tell them I need STARS,’” said Cindi, recalling pain and an inability to move her legs. She “knew it was bad” and couldn’t imagine three hours by road to a trauma centre.

The nature of the accident and its remote location activated the STARS Emergency Link Centre and launched a critical-care crew from Calgary, about 250 kilometres away.

But the first to arrive by air was local rancher and volunteer firefighter Caleb Klassen, who was in the area with his personal airplane and his now-wife Katie Klassen, who’d recently finished a practicum in a major trauma-centre emergency department as a requirement to completing her nursing degree.

“I hadn’t even written my exam yet,” said Katie. “But from my knowledge of emergency medicine, (I knew) crush injuries are never good.”

STARS Very Important Patient Cindi Long listens as STARS flight paramedic Scott McTaggart details the equipment in the back of the STARS air ambulance, during a visit to the Calgary base. Cindi's husband Tim stands in the foreground, also listening.

Cindi and Tim had the opportunity to meet some of the crew that served on her mission. Here she talks to STARS flight paramedic Scott McTaggart during her visit to the Calgary base.

STARS Very Important Patient Cindi Long poses in a field on her property. She is framed by long prairie grass in the foreground and a cloud studded blue sky behind her.

“I said, ‘You tell them I need STARS,’” said Cindi, recalling pain and an inability to move her legs. She “knew it was bad” and couldn’t imagine three hours by road to a trauma centre.

STARS Very Important Patient Cindi Long and husband Tim sit on a cough at their home in Alberta recounting the story of Cindi's experience and STARS mission.

Cindi and Tim's neighbour Caleb Klassen sits on the wheel of his personal plane that he had landed near the site of Cindi's accident.

Neighbour and volunteer firefighter Caleb Klassen piloted the plane that landed near Cindi's accident. Along with his partner Katie, at the time a nursing student, they provided initial aid and comfort to Cindi while STARS was dispatched.

STARS Very Important Patient Cindi Long walks with husband Tim and neighbours Katie and Caleb Klassen walk through a field during a visit to tell Cindi's story.

After first responders arrived on scene, Katie was a strong advocate for Cindi not to be moved until STARS arrived on side. As STARS approached, Caleb and Katie got back in their plane and took off to clear a landing zone for the helicopter to arrive.

STARS Very Important Patient Cindi Long rides her horse on a sunny afternoon on her property after starting recovery from her accident.

Cindi’s recovery is ongoing, involving several surgeries and lingering complications, like learning how to walk again, but she’s grateful for her second chance and the ability to continue her ranching life.

Katie kept Cindi calm and alert, performed a basic assessment, and advocated strongly with local responders that she shouldn’t be moved until STARS arrived. When the helicopter was near, she and Caleb flew away to clear the landing zone.

“That’s the last thing you want in your life — a red helicopter landing,” said Tim. “But it’s also the thing you want most, because if you’re in that wreck, they’re coming to save you.”

STARS flight paramedic Scott McTaggart and flight nurse Maggie Mallett had prepared for a wide range of possibilities.

“When you hear ‘side-by-side rollover,’ we’re presuming the worst,” said McTaggart.

During the hour-long flight to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, he and Mallett used on-board ultrasound to look for internal bleeding, managed Cindi’s pain and blood pressure, and relayed critical information to the trauma hospital.

It was later confirmed she had major damage to her kidneys, ribs, pelvis, lungs, and more. Most concerning was a femoral bleed — a life-threatening injury that can deteriorate rapidly.

“If (deterioration) had happened en route,” said Mallett, “or if she had been taken on a bumpy road for a two- or three-hour drive and this had happened on the way, things may have had a different outcome.”

“If it wasn’t for STARS, I would not have made it out of this field back here,” she said, comfortable at home. “I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have my grandchildren. I’m so blessed and grateful for every day I get to wake up.”

For Tim, the impact is just as clear.

“It means everything, everything to our family,” he said quietly. “Cindi gets to see the kids. She’s part of my life.”