UNITY — During recovery from a head-on vehicle crash that put him in critical condition, Sheldon Ducherer and his family had an opportunity to meet members of STARS Air Ambulance who played a role in his ultimate survival.
While at City Hospital undergoing physiotherapy to learn to walk again, Ducherer learned of the STARS VIP event and knew he wanted to attend as it would give him the opportunity to meet the STARS staff who attended his accident. It was an opportunity to talk to them and find out “the missing pieces” from the traumatic event.
Ducherer said he met: Brett Cowden, paramedic; Shawn Silver, nurse; Barry Tolmie; Yves Bolduc, pilot and Jerson Paez, co-pilot.
“They save lives, and they certainly saved mine and I will always be grateful,” says Sheldon.
“We attended to the scene within about 10 minutes of receiving the call,” explained Darcy McKay provincial director, Saskatchewan Clinical Operations. “Once Sheldon was out of the vehicle, we were able to stabilize him and as he was being transported to the hospital, we provided him with a few units of blood and performed an ultrasound to check for internal injuries.”
STARS is a non-profit charitable organization and have been around for 30 years, although only a part of the Saskatchewan landscape since April 30, 2012. The organization has been funded in community partnerships and donations. Sheldon said he and his family have been STARS supporters for a number of years, and on this trip, on behalf of his family, he brought a $1,000 donation to STARS along with a $500 donation from his parents and siblings and their families.
A long road to recovery for Sheldon and his wife Vicky began with a routine trip to a son’s hockey game Jan. 16, 2022. The Ducherers crashed head-on with another vehicle and Sheldon was immediately deemed critical upon extraction from the wreck.
He was airlifted by STARS to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. Vicky, was transported by road ambulance also to RUH. Their lives have been drastically changed as a result of that head-on collision.
“My injuries included a crushed right ankle, both legs were broken that resulted in hardware put in,” Sheldon tells the Unity-Wilkie Press-Herald/SASKTODAY.ca.
He also incurred a broken elbow, thumb and sternum, along with 12 ribs and broken bones on his back. Internal injuries were also extensive and surgeons worked for seven hours to clean his chest cavity.
His wife also incurred significant injuries in the crash.
Sheldon maintains his Chevy truck had multiple airbags, and he believes these safety features were factors in them surviving the crash.
The community of Unity rallied for the Ducherer family.
A number of groups, organizations and people found ways to fundraise for the family’s recovery fund. In addition to numerous fundraising and benefit efforts for the family, an account was set up at Unity BMO as more people expressed their desire to help the family by any means they could.
The Ducherers say the love and support and acts of kindness were beyond what they could have imagined and played a big role in their recovery, often giving them one less thing to worry about. With both parents in hospital, they were always assured the kids were looked after, fed and supported.
Sheldon has undergone numerous surgeries, most recently in December of 2022 and January of 2023 in efforts to stop a significant infection related to the hardware inserted in his leg.
Both are still participating in extensive physiotherapy treatments as well as numerous follow-up appointments.
Sheldon also says he has been seeing a professional for help dealing with the accident trauma and long recovery road.
In what people deemed as nothing short of miraculous, Sheldon was moved to Unity hospital in early February of 2022 that enabled him and his wife to be in the same location for recovery, and their children the opportunity to see their parents right from their home community. Their house was waiting to be retrofitted for their needs and they were looking forward to returning home.
“Life for me and our children has really changed as the kids are upset that dad can’t do things anymore like he used to. I can, it just takes a while,” Sheldon says.
