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FAIRFIELD — When Josh Dykstra walks across a room today, he still feels a pain in his hip and has limited movement in his right leg. But that discomfort is nothing compared to the pain he felt a year ago when he nearly lost his life.

Last June, Dykstra, 23, was found on John Gray Road after wrecking his motorcycle with a broken femur, pelvis and a hand-size wound on his back that caused him to hemorrhage. Rescue workers said his heart stopped three times that night.

The quick life-saving efforts to help Dykstra by rescue workers with the Fairfield Fire Department and University Hospital Air Care will be recognized today, May 13, when they receive a prestigious state award in Columbus.

Scheduled to receive the EMS Star of Life Award are Fairfield Fire Capt. Jim Howell, Lt. Randy McCreadie, Lt. Richard Hall, firefighter/paramedic Tim Jung, former firefighter Mike Smith, University Hospital Air Care's Dr. Ben Bassin and flight nurse Casi Stewart.

The award is distributed each year for each of Ohio's 10 EMS regions by the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Now in the 10th year, the awards recognize EMS and rescue personnel for dedication toward life-saving efforts and good documentation, and use of training and protocols, said Laura Tiberi, executive director for Ohio ACEP.

On Monday, May 12, Fairfield officials honored the group at a pre-awards luncheon at the Fairfield Community Center.

Dudley Smith, administrative director of University Hospital's Air Care and Mobile Care, praised the five Fairfield rescue workers, who he said worked quickly to establish airways and intravenous tubing for Dykstra.

"Probably the most important thing is they recognized that he really needed to get into a trauma center as fast as he could," Smith said.

The survival rate after heart failure from a massive trauma is less than one percent, said Dr. Ben Bassin, who worked to keep Dykstra alive on the way to University Hospital.

"Those people who do survive are usually in a vegetative state and never have any neurological function again," Bassin said.

Fairfield officials also recognized dispatchers Denise Adams and Tracy Brown for their role in helping save Dykstra's life.

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