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Joy Kuppinger: A Family’s Darkest Hour
When
their 17-year-old son was killed in a car accident, Tadd and Denise Kuppinger
never imagined they’d have to suffer
that kind of pain again. But when their daughter, Joy, slid on some ice while
driving to Joseph High School, the Kuppingers’ whole world turned upside
down once more. “I lost control and three fence posts came through
the passenger side of my truck,” Joy recalls.
When the ambulance crew from Wallowa County EMS appeared on the scene, they knew Joy was in serious trouble. And because they had all responded to her brother’s accident the year before, they knew exactly what was at stake for the Kuppinger family. The crew raced Joy to the hospital where they discovered she had massive internal injuries. She needed advanced trauma care—fast.
Air Life responded quickly, racing Joy to Spokane via the fixed-wing. Tadd stayed with his daughter, helping the team pump blood into her battered body. “The crew on that plane was top-notch,” he recalls
It was a long, slow process for Joy, but she eventually made a full recovery. Wallowa County EMS Director Bruce Womack says the case was a shining example of how emergency medical professionals can work together to create miracles. “We have such a great working relationship with Air Life, and that can make all the difference for the patient.”
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