Esther and Kaycee Stern,
family origins

On a Wednesday evening in July 1995, a 36-week-pregnant Esther Stern and her husband Wade were driving along a road near their rural home.  They were on their way to a prenatal class at the hospital when, suddenly, they collided with a truck.

The collision caused multiple injuries. Upon emergency medical services’ arrival, Esther began to regain consciousness, and her water broke while she was still in the car. Soon after, she was flown by a STARS air medical crew to hospital. Esther received care on board and said the crew was supportive and attentive.

“I was listening to the voice, I felt safe and that they were going to help me,” Esther says, recalling how she received critical care on her flight as crew members talked her through her contractions.

Once she arrived at hospital, Esther was rushed for an emergency C-section and delivered her daughter, Kaycee. Due to Esther’s severe injuries, she did not get to meet Kaycee until five days after.

Esther went on to make a full recovery, and three decades later, she and her husband have raised their three daughters on their family ranch and are now grandparents.

Kaycee has lived a full life and is active in supporting STARS, from volunteering to fundraising and spreading awareness. Today, she is a thriving outdoor enthusiast and agricultural buff, and impacts the lives of young people as an educator.

When reflecting on what STARS means to her, she says, “Without them, I wouldn’t have a life.”

The Sterns believe that STARS is incredibly important to rural communities as it delivers critical care, anywhere.

In rural communities there’s lots of incidents, where you might be in a coulee, prairie, or a mountain range, where you don’t know how you can get care fast enough, and I know that STARS would be able to get there and provide the care that those patients would need.”
Kaycee Stern

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