Draidyn's Story

Dr. Megan McElheran, a clinical psychologist who specializes in helping emergency responders, talks through the brain science behind mental health and emphasizes the data-driven importance of looking after it, particularly in the emergency response field. We also hear from Ryan Collyer, the former advanced care paramedic Dr. McElheran hired to run the Before Operational Stress program she founded. Watch Ryan and Dr. McElheran talk about their core considerations in a bonus video at https://stars.ca/missionready.

For the first time, we hear directly from Draidyn his recounting of the rescue response that ultimately saved his life. Remarkably, he remembers a lot of what happened as community members, firefighters, police, first responders, and STARS crew members worked together to save his life. He even remembers parts of his arrival at the city hospital. Watch Draidyn and his mom walk around the incident scene in a bonus video at https://stars.ca/missionready.

STARS founder Dr. Greg Powell passed away very recently, leaving behind an incredible legacy of improving pre-hospital trauma care throughout Western Canada. He was instrumental in STARS launching in 1985, and now, more than 60,000 missions later, we're reflecting on that remarkable accomplishment. We're releasing a bonus episode we originally published in Season 1 of Mission Ready, focusing on how STARS began and how it grew.

The industrial riding lawnmower that had been sitting on top of Draidyn Wollmann is finally removed and he's whisked off to the STARS helicopter running nearby. His mom, who is also a first responder, has shown poise and strength and is allowed to join the flight to the city trauma centre. While en route, the STARS air medical crew continues to perform critical care on Draidyn, and hospital staff stands ready to take over. Watch the STARS flight paramedic talk about his glimmer of hope in a bonus video at https://stars.ca/missionready.

A STARS helicopter lands near the bustling scene where Draidyn Wollmann's life is ebbing away from beneath the cutting deck of an industrial lawnmower. Skilled air medical crew members are stunned by what they see but lean on their robust training to quickly begin transfusing blood into Draidyn's only intact arm and taking over his breathing. Both STARS pilots help in whatever way they can. Watch all four STARS crew members talk about their initial reactions in a bonus video at https://stars.ca/missionready.

As young Draidyn Wollmann fights for life beneath the cutting deck of a stalled industrial mower, emergency responders rush to his aid and STARS is dispatched from more than 60 km away. A ground paramedic soon discovers that a blade from the mower is embedded in the boy's chest and an arm is mostly severed. Responders wonder how they're going to remove the mower without causing further damage. Watch the ground paramedic and STARS transport physician discuss the challenge in a bonus video at https://stars.ca/missionready.

Teenager Draidyn Wollmann was supposed to be enjoying his first summer job, mowing public lawns for his local municipality, but one terrifying day his industrial mower falls quiet in the sleepy village and Draidyn can't be found. When his boss finally spots the stalled machine behind the community arena, he can't believe where he finds the boy. Watch a bonus video from the community at https://stars.ca/missionready.

A teenage boy becomes trapped under an industrial riding lawnmower. With a cutting blade embedded in his chest and a severely injured arm, he fights for life alone until he's eventually discovered, setting off a multi-agency emergency response. STARS is dispatched, and the skilled crew that responds works shoulder-to-shoulder with allies to give the boy a chance at life. Season 2 of the STARS podcast Mission Ready, presented by ARC Resources, starts April 16. Find bonus material at https://stars.ca/missionready.