Anthony Young remembers Nov. 5, 2016, like it was yesterday. It was the day he almost died.
Young was riding motorcycles with a friend in a forested section of mountains south of Lakeside.
“I felt odd that day. By the time we reached the top of a steep hill, I couldn’t catch my breath,” he recalled recently.
Soon sweat was dripping off Young’s face. At first, he thought he was having heat stroke despite the cool fall temperatures. He lied down, unable to move his arms or speak clearly. His friend scrambled to find cell service and luckily gained a signal and called 911.
The volunteer crew of first responders with the Lakeside QRU quickly came to Young’s aid. After navigating the labyrinth of forest roads, the QRU team carried medical supplies up the mountain and reached Young. They quickly realized he was having a serious heart attack and called in the ALERT helicopter from Kalispell Regional Healthcare.
“I couldn’t even breathe. I just laid there, covered in mud, and was becoming hypothermic,” he said. “They figured out what was going wrong with me and hooked me up with an IV.”
Within a few weeks, Young was back riding his motorcycle, fully recovered.
Young’s situation is the latest success story to emerge from the help and assistance of the Lakeside QRU. Founded in 1981 as the Upper West Shore Quick Response Unit, the nonprofit group of citizens bands together to provide a vital service to those in need, oftentimes in rural, rugged and remote locations such as the one where Young was rescued.
“They provide an invaluable service. I am indebted to them,” Young said.
The Lakeside QRU, which provides pre-hospital emergency medical care and transport, responds to roughly 350 calls a year, serving a geographical area from Rollins to the south end of Kalispell. The organization is licensed to respond to basic life support and advanced life support emergencies, and roughly 56 percent of the calls are medical emergencies and 20 percent are motor vehicle accidents.
The QRU is hosting its fifth annual Ham Dinner Fundraiser on Sunday, June 4. The event is from 3-6 p.m. at the Lakeside QRU/Ambulance building on 125 Bills Road in Lakeside. Tickets are $10 per person and children under 6 eat free. Proceeds will benefit repairs for the QRU ambulance. Several raffle prizes will be available and Vista Linda Catering will provide dinner.
For more information, visit www.lakesideqru.org.