Rescuers honored for saving lives

When John and Thomas Dehaan were discovered in Utah Lake after two hours of floating in the 44-degree water, John was cradling Thomas' head to keep his brother up, steadying himself on their capsized boat.

Both were freezing; Thomas was stiff as a corpse and was not breathing.

Members of the Utah County Search and Rescue team who responded to the scene were emotionally drawn into the situation as John repeatedly insisted they focus their efforts on saving his seemingly lifeless brother.

After CPR was begun, Thomas would begin breathing, then stop again. His heart would beat for a few seconds, stimulated by a portable defibrillator, then go silent. The crew continued its efforts for more than 30 minutes before an AirMed crew arrived and whisked the patient away, signaling the next phase in a near- hopeless race last October to save a man who proved in the end he wanted to live.

Monday, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and the Utah Department of Health honored 34 individuals in six different phases of rescue who helped save Thomas Dehaan's life. As part of the ceremony, ultimately recognizing more than 130 emergency medical service workers, Huntsman declared May 15-21 "Emergency Medical Services Week."

The awards went to workers from all around the state, from John Valentine, R-Orem, president of the Utah Senate, who is also part of Utah County's Search and Rescue team, to Dr. Gordon Larsen from Dixie Regional Medical Center.

While many of the awards recognized distinguished day-to-day services, some commended workers for their efforts in hair-raising events, from an incident in which a 9-year-old boy, Ben Vandagraff, was crushed between two cars in a crash to the birth of a premature baby in the back seat of a car, coached by a dispatcher over the phone.

The birth happened at mile marker 198 on U.S. 89 as Department of Public Safety dispatcher Trudi Huntsmen coached the woman and her husband. The couple had gone on a hunting trip after their doctor had given the OK.

"It was crazy," said Jennifer Ball, the new mother of aptly named Hunter. "It all happened pretty quick."

For her part in the successful birth, Huntsmen was given an award for "Outstanding Performance in an Emergency Medical Incident."

A less joyful event came in Woods Cross last May when Vandagraff was crushed when a car collided with a stopped truck the boy was crossing in front of in a crosswalk. Entangled in the truck's grill, Vandagraff was trapped between the car and truck when responders got to the scene. Miraculously, the team was able to physically push the vehicles apart and carefully pry the semiconscious boy away from the grill without hurting his spine. Within 23 minutes, Vandagraff was being treated at Primary Children's Medical Center. And Monday, a year later, and without any sign of disability, he was able to grin and say a quick "thanks a bunch" to his rescuers.

For John and Thomas Dehaan's part, they said they feel their rescuers have become like family. "These are like my brothers," John said. "I just love them."

E-mail: dhinckley@desnews.com

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