Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

FAIRFIELD TWP. — Michael Cox has new respect for his carpentry trade and the Air Care medical crew who transported him and three of his fingers to the hospital.

The 53-year-old Fairfield Twp. resident spent nine days at University Hospital after his gloved hand got dragged into a rotating chop saw April 30 at his home on Headgates Road.

Shortly after its service was requested by Fairfield Twp. emergency crews, the Air Care medical helicopter landed at the Speedway on Ohio 4, then flew Cox to the University Hospital emergency room in a matter of minutes.

Four months later, Cox is in physical therapy to get more motion in the ring finger, the only one that was successfully reattached after surgery.

Cox, an avid water sports enthusiast, said the pain is still unbearable at times, but he's slowly returning to work as an independent contractor and finding new ways to use the tools of his trade.

Cox said being a patient in the Air Care helicopter was as good as being in the emergency room.

"I had already seen these people in action," Cox said, referring to a crash scene he witnessed in 2005 and rescues he has witnessed after water skiing accidents.

"I can't say enough about what a great job Air Care does. They know exactly what to do," he said.

Though Cox's injury was serious, the speed and critical care provided by the Air Care unit is not needed for "digital amputations" unless the patient goes into "hemorrhagic shock," said Dr. Bill Hinckley, medical director and flight physician with Air Care & Mobile Care, University Hospital, Cincinnati.

When to call for services is a significant issue for the Air Care staff, who rely on emergency crews on the ground to assess the severity of medical traumas at accident scenes, Hinckley said.