A nurse anesthetist's vacation to the Grand Canyon turned into a life-saving expedition when a helicopter carrying British tourists crashed Feb. 10, reports Las Vegas Now.
Katie Kineally, CRNA, was visiting the national park with her family when the crash occurred below them in the canyon. "As soon as we got to the edge of the cliff, we could just see the smoke billowing up," she told Las Vegas Now.
Ms. Kineally, who has more than 35 years of nursing experience, slid down the rocky slope to reach the crash site. Four people on the helicopter survived the crash and three died. As the sun set and temperatures fell, Ms. Kineally wrapped the survivors in clothes thrown down by other bystanders on the cliff and administered IVs in the dark.
"I had an EMT standing over with a flashlight because I couldn't see anything, and I did it mostly by feel because she needed more fluid, she was getting really shocky," Ms. Kineally told Las Vegas Now.
She spent nine hours treating the survivors before rescue teams airlifted them out.