SHERMAN, TX -- Dozens of ambulances that help save lives in Texoma every day, but only three medical helicopters. Rashi Vats took a look into Texas Lifestar in Sherman to see how they cover so much ground in the air.

We have seen the countless accident scens, and the countless victims that are struggling, literally fighting for their lives.

"You need to get a person who has those significant injuries to that a definite level of care in less than an hour. That hour starts from the time they are injured."

Emergency medical teams have that same goal. But to help in the race against time, sometimes the dispatchers have to call for a $10,000 ride--Lifestar.

"The nice thing about aircraft is they don't have to travel the same speed as ground. They don't have to follow the roads," said Lifestar Manger Rick Thurman.

That's how the only three medical helicopters in Texoma are able to cover so much ground by air. We decided to strap up and see what it's like.
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Since there is no traffic in the sky, it takes only half the time to get to the hospital versus an ambulance on the ground.

The clock keeps ticking as the flight crews do their best to save the patient's life. The crew includes three people. First there's the pilot who flies the plane at 125 miles per hour.

"We don't fly high and far like airliners do so we have to have restrictions," said Lifestar Pilot Donald Holt. "We have to have a minimum of 800 foot ceiling and 2 miles visibility during the day, 1003 during night. So if it's a foggy day, don't call us we can't come or thunderstorms. We can't fly in thunderstorms."

In an ambulance, there's usually an emergency technician and paramedic. In the chopper, they have a flight paramedic and a flight nurse.

"When you have a flight nurse and a flight paramedic, you've got a nurse that's bringing critical care to the table and you've got a paramedic that's bringing your EMS and your pre hospital experience. When you put that together you are providing a better service to the patient," said Lifestar Flight Nurse Dawn Harrison.

"Anytime we get a flight, your heart races, the adreniline starts pumping. Your mind starts thinking what are we going to and you always try and anticipate the worst that way you are never caught off guard," said Flight Paramedic Gayle Brennan.

Both Dawn Harrison and Gayle Brennan have previous experience working at a hospital before taking the challenge of performing medical treatment in the sky.

"You have to know a little bit about everything," said Harrison. "When you're in the air, you're essentially functioning like the doctor. You're the one that's making the decisions. You're the one that has to decide what kind of treatment that this patient is going to require and be able to treat that patient appropriately."

Before taking off the flight crew and the patient have to put these ear plugs on because the noise level is so high, over time it could damage your hearing.

"If you subject your hearing to that kind of decimal it will effect your hearing and over time you will lose your hearing," said Brennan.

After years of doing this, all three members of the flight crew say they've had some hearing damage, but they say it's all worth it.

'It makes you feel good that you're making that difference," said Brennan.

"I feel like we are making a difference here, we got great people here and we are doing great things for this area," said Thurman.

Because almost always they win against time, by stabilizing lives, one heartbeat at a time, all in mid-air.