Magic Valley man meets crew that helped save his foot in accident: 'this one stands out'

Morgan Crane walked to the helipad at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center on crutches, his right foot in a boot.

“I know most of these people,” Morgan said while looking at the group assembled to meet him near an Air St. Luke's Helicopter.

While he didn't know all their names, he remembered many of the faces. They sure recognized him.

“I remember the flight,” said Air St. Luke’s flight nurse Mike Boughton. “This one stands out.”

Always looking out for the needs of patients, Boughton quickly grabbed a folding chair so Morgan could take a seat while he talked with the team that had worked together to help save his foot — and his life.

Their first meeting, in late May, was under less comfortable conditions. A boating accident at Murtaugh Lake could have ended in tragedy when Morgan's foot was injured by the propeller.

“I remember falling out of the boat, swimming back to the boat, everybody freaking out,” Crane said.

While the mood was anything but calm immediately after the accident, it didn't take long for emergency responders to arrive with expert care to both treat Morgan and help ease concerns of family and friends.

First on the scene was Dee Hunsaker, a battalion chief with Rock Creek Fire who lives in Murtaugh and was the closest to the lake when the call for help was sent out.

“When I got on scene, he was lying on the dock,” Hunsaker explained. “I took a look at the foot and made some quick assessments.”

As Dee was applying a tourniquet, Magic Valley Paramedics (owned and operated by St. Luke's and operates within the organization framework of St. Luke's Magic Valley) arrived in an ambulance. Thanks to good communication from the scene while on the road, Jac Davelaar had already called Air St. Luke's.

Daveleaar joined Magic Valley Paramedics as an EMT in 2022 and now has her paramedic's certification. Crane is the first patient to ask to personally meet the team to thank them since she started the job.

“It’s awesome,” she said of getting to see him again. “It’s such a challenging career … stuff like this afterwards just confirms that I absolutely love my job.”

While Davelaar is just starting her career, Hunsaker has been responding to accidents for a long time. But meeting with families in person months after an accident is fairly new to him as well.

“This is my second one and I've been in 30 years,” he said, adding he was happy to have the chance to chat with Morgan and see his foot healing.

Air St. Luke's pilot Justin Mangum was also glad to see Morgan up and walking.

“When I walked over to the ambulance to get a game plan of where we were going … all I could see was his (injured) foot,” he recalled. “This is amazing.”