ESTEVAN - Carter Yunick and his family are grateful for the care he received from STARS Air Ambulance after he was involved in a motocross accident last year.
Now he is among the VIPs for the Critical Care on the Air Radiothon for STARS, which will be taking place on April 9 and 10. A profile for Carter, who is 12 years old, went live on March 1, and he already had $375 of his $3,000 goal.
Carter's bio states that like a lot of kids, he lives for excitement, with one of his favourite pastimes being motocross racing. His family rides dirt bikes, and he has been competing for a few years. During a race on May 27, 2023, Carter hit a rut on the track near Estevan, which caused him and his bike to fly off the track, causing an open fracture of his right arm near his wrist.
"It looked like his hand was almost going to come off," said Tenille, Carter's mom.
Carter was immediately rushed to hospital, where it was determined he needed to have immediate surgery to avoid infection and save his hand. That's when a STARS air medical crew was called in.
Because Carter's injuries were considered non-life threatening, Tenille was able to travel in the helicopter with Carter. The bio states the care she saw reinforced the importance of the level of care STARS provides to its patients.
"The medic who was attending to him didn't just tend to his medical needs. She also kind of took the role as a mom too," said Tenille. "There was one point when Carter was coming to that I was really put at ease. She was talking to him and rubbing his forehead, like something I would do as a mom. Those extra things really meant a lot to me."
Upon arrival at the hospital, Carter was rushed into surgery where doctors were able to save his hand. While not everything is back to 100 per cent just yet, Carter is thriving and enjoying all the things that his family worried he might miss out on.
"We never thought we would see him serving overhand in volleyball again, and he had an amazing serve this season with his school," said Tenille. "Basketball is another sport … which he is currently in mid-season and he amazingly picked up right where he was pre-injury. He's adapted so well and him being the competitive, athletic kid that he is was huge for our family."
At the time of the accident, she wasn't sure if he would be able to write again. He couldn't feel his fingers, and it took a long time for him to get movement back.
As for motocross, it's not known if he will be able to ride again.
Carter was asked to be part of the campaign after going for a tour of the STARS base to meet the crew that helped him. He agreed to be part of the campaign once he was asked.
"For him being only 12, it's surprising how many people close to us … have actually used STARS, so he wanted to help out right away. He didn't hesitate at all," said Tenille.
As part of his role as a VIP, he will have to do a live on-air interview during the fundraiser and his story is online.
Carter and his family are proud to be sharing their STARS story and ask the public to donate to their campaign in support of the Critical Care on the Air Radiothon.
You can click here to support his campaign.
