July 4th in the Idaho Wilderness. My wife Nancy and i were hiking about 1 mile north of the runway down next to the river. We sat down on a log to rest. She started to get up and twisted her leg and started screaming in pain. We did not know exactly at the time but she had dislocated the top of her leg from her hip socket. I could not move her even touch the leg. We were on an unused trail. After about 5 minutes, I pushed the SOS on my Garmin In-Reach mini. This was a narrow canyon next to the forest. In about 3 minutes I got a message asking the nature of emergency. I texted on the mini "broken hip send lifeflight" The helicopter was overhead within 1hour and 15 min. The pilot did a great job landing on the rocky shore line next to the trees. The paramedics gave her an IV and pain drugs. They carefully took her to the copter. 45 minutes later they landed on the roof of the hospital in Moscow, ID. They contacted our surgeon on the way in and he was there. It took several attempts to get her leg in place and a lot of drugs. I walked back up to the campsite and the plane. Cliff who flys a Cessna 182 came over with some fish for us. When he left he talked to Mike. . Mike came over after a while with his satellite phone. He got the hospital phone number and dialed it for me. I talked to my wife after the procedure and I talked to the surgeon. It was not a broken hip but a severe dislocation. We hope to be back in the backcountry in about 6 weeks. I want to thank Cliff and Mike for their help. I also want to encourage everyone to get a Garmin In Reach or some equivalent. It saved us. Lifeflight did a fantastic job. Fly safe Dick

Wow Dick, that is quite an event! I sure hope your wife is not in any more pain. Looks like it all worked out as it was supposed to, that is fantastic! All the best to you and your wife. Thank you for sharing your story!

Kurt

So I assume you can text on the mini, is that correct or did you text on your phone thru the mini?

Kurt

Sounds like quite the adventure!! Glad it's going to turn out okay for the wife.

Glad those things work. Sometimes we wonder.

gbflyer wrote:Glad those things work. Sometimes we wonder.

+1

G44 wrote:So I assume you can text on the mini, is that correct or did you text on your phone thru the mini?

Kurt

You absolutely CAN text on the Mini without a phone – you just have to scroll through the alphabet and select each letter one at a time. Works fine, just not quick and easy.

Having a phone makes it significantly easier, with no "network" connection required - just the Bluetooth connection to the Mini, and having the app loaded on your phone BEFORE you head out.

Flyer – glad things worked out as well as they did, and hope your wife is back "up and at 'em" quickly.

JP256 wrote:

G44 wrote:So I assume you can text on the mini, is that correct or did you text on your phone thru the mini?

Kurt

You absolutely CAN text on the Mini without a phone – you just have to scroll through the alphabet and select each letter one at a time. Works fine, just not quick and easy.

Having a phone makes it significantly easier, with no "network" connection required - just the Bluetooth connection to the Mini, and having the app loaded on your phone BEFORE you head out.

Flyer – glad things worked out as well as they did, and hope your wife is back "up and at 'em" quickly.

Thanks 256!

KURT

My wife, Nancy, is home. She is out watering the garden. She is using ski poles outside and a walker inside. I expect we will be back in the Backcountrty in about 6 weeks or so. The Garmin In-Reach Mini was one of my best investments. Within 2 minutes after I pushed the SOS button, they were texting me back. They were also calling my emergency contact numbers. I texted to them "BROKEN HIP SEND LIFEFLIGHT" They texted back that they were in contact with Lifeflight. They then texted me that Lifeflight was on the way. The Lifeflight pilot, an ex Air Force pilot, did a great job landing and departing from a small spot next to the river. If I had not answered the text, they would have sent Search and Rescue to find us. It is a real safety net that I recommend.
Fly Safe Dick

Glad all is well. Sounds very stressful.

Do you have special insurance for Lifeflight?

It reminds me of the old expression. "In an emergency an airplane can drop you flowers but a helicopter can save your life."

Wow. I'm so glad she is ok.

We were camped there, too, and saw the chopper. We didn't ID it as life flight and were wondering if it was dropping off at the Ranch for some kind of 4th of July event.

What side of the river were you on? There's hardly a trail left on the east side past the old cable crossing, and we ran out of trail on the west side well before we got close to the Ranch. We did a fair amount of bushwhacking through old burns. The thought crossed my mind more than once about how bad it would be to take a fall out there.

This was our maiden trip with our RAF-sponsored InReach. I'm so glad to have it, and I appreciate the tips that have already popped up in this thread. I'm glad you got good help, fast, and more at the strip. What a great community.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery and return to paradise.

CAVU

CAVU We were on the east side of the river past the old cable about 1/4 mile. The trail was nonexistant. He landed the helicopter on the east side of the river. I stood out in the river waving a yellow poncho. They were looking for me. Mountain Doctor, the answer is yes. This would have been a lot, lot more ugly if it had not been for my Garmin In Reach Mini and if it had not been for the Professionalism of LIFE FLIGHT.

Wow. We bushwhacked a ways up from the cable the east side the afternoon before (7/3). Between the deadfalls, bogs, nettles, and lack of decent holding water for the Cutts, we gave up at the island and turned around. I doubt that trail has seen a crew for 10 years or more.

That's some impressive flying by Life Flight, putting it down there. Good thing it wasn't as windy as it had been the last few afternoons. Carrying someone out on a litter would have been extraordinarily tough on everyone. So glad she was spared that.

CAVU

Dick,

Thanks for sharing this. And I want to commend you on being prepared to the "nines", not only with the inReach but also with the insurance. And for how quickly you triggered the SOS. Great job. Here is wishing a speedy recovery for your wife.

So glad to hear that all went well. I had the same question. Tell us more about the cost of the heli. I carry the insurance offered by Garmin (whoever the undercarrier is). I know cost isn’t relevant when you’re in this kind of situation, but I have always been curious what the end bill would be. Also, where were you guys camped?

I’ve loved my inreach. So much better than Spot.


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I took a ride in an Airlift Northwest helo last year, the aircraft owner's insurance covered it.
FWIW for a flight from the NW Puget Sound area to Harborview Hospital in Seattle,
about 35 NM, I was billed $30K.
For a 1/4 mile or less ambulance ride, from Harborview's landing pad to the ER, $2600.
Don't recall the total from Harborview itself, for minor injuries, but it was a bunch.
All in all, it makes a good case for carrying some sort of health / accident insurance--
esp if you're engaged in activities with high injury potential (like aviation).

FWIW Airlift NW (and I assume Lifeflight) offers medevac insurance--
pretty cheap too, like $100 a year maybe?
What they don't tell you is that it is only to cover your copay (usually 20%)--
if your regular insurance doesn't cover medevac flights, you're SOL.

Lifeflight advertises that there will be no out of pocket expense if you are a member. Membership costs $69 per year. They will collect from your insurance first. The cost of this flight will probably be between $10,000 and $20,000. Do you not think the membership is worth it or DO YOU FEEL LUCKY? When I get the details, I will post them. Go to the LifeFlight website and get the membership. FLY SAFE

I just called LIFEFLIGHT. The cost of the flight will be between $10,000 and $50,000. I think it will be on the higher end because of the medications,etc. Life flight bills whatever insurance you have. What is not covered by insurance, medicare, etc. is covered by your membership. There is no out of pocket cost for members. Membership costs $69.00 per year for your family. I urge all of you that fly into the backcountry to get a Lifeflight membership. Dick

$69/year sounds great. It's too bad it's really only in a few northwest states. Maybe there's a similar group doing it elsewhere?

https://www.lifeflight.org/service-area/

flyer wrote:I just called LIFEFLIGHT. The cost of the flight will be between $10,000 and $50,000. I think it will be on the higher end because of the medications,etc. Life flight bills whatever insurance you have. What is not covered by insurance, medicare, etc. is covered by your membership. There is no out of pocket cost for members. Membership costs $69.00 per year for your family. I urge all of you that fly into the backcountry to get a Lifeflight membership. Dick

Good story to read. I honestly hadn't put much thought into what, if any, coverage I have for a medivac flight. I didn't even know there was a Lifeflight membership thingie. I'll go look at it, thanks for sharing Dick.