By ELLEN KOLMAN - Staff Writer - ekolman@starbeacon.com
ROME TOWNSHIP — Eight-year-old Austin Ruscoe’s blue eyes were bright with excitement as he was seated inside of the University Hospital’s MedEvac helicopter Tuesday at the South Central Ambulance District’s headquarters while his parents took photos.
Austin doesn’t remember his first time in the helicopter just a little more than a year ago.
On May 10, 2008, Austin fell through the hayloft ladder hole in the family’s Hartsgrove Township farm while pulling a ladder with his (then) 9-year-old brother, Zach. Austin fell 16 feet to the concrete floor where his head took the impact.
“I heard the ladder drop and Zach yelled that Austin had fallen,” said Joe Ruscoe, Austin’s dad.
The family, including Austin’s mom Melanie Ruscoe, and siblings Zach, 10-, and 3-year-old Lanie Jo, was reunited with the medical personnel who assisted Austin at the scene and flew him to UH-Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, in Cleveland.
Austin, who suffered a fractured skull with a concussion, doesn’t remember the people who helped him get to treatment, but they remembered him and were anxious to see how he and his family were doing.
Shaun Buehner, a paramedic with the South Central Ambulance District, was with the team that was first on the scene and made the decision to call for a helicopter.
“It is really heartwarming for us when families want to come back and say thank you,” Buehner said. “It is very nice when we can hear how everything turned out; especially when it is a child.”
The MedEvac personnel who flew in for the reunion were Mike Boland, flight paramedic and Stephanie Fleming, flight nurse.
“It is such a treat to see you again, and I couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome,” Fleming said as she hugged Austin and his family.
Boland said it is not uncommon for families to request a reunion to express their thanks.
“We get about four to six requests a year, and many people who do not ask for a reunion send letters, which is very nice,” he said.
“We have such a compassion and passion for our job; we are parents too,” Fleming said.
The reunion gave Austin’s parents a chance to not only express their thanks, but their feelings as well.
“There was no way we could not thank these people after all they did to help our son,” Joe Ruscoe said.
“This was a totally life changing event,” Melanie Ruscoe said. “When something like this happens nothing is ever the same.”
