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After a boating accident, teenager and family return to thank the life-saving health first flight team

Crash near captain. Hirams resulted in Colsant, Chatwood, being thrown from the boat

Family, friends and the Health First First Flight team pose for a photo with boating accident victim Nicolle Colsant (bottom center) and her friend Spencer Chatwood during a “thank you” meeting on Saturday, May 11. (Image from Health First)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – What started as a typical boat trip for two teenagers off the coast of Sebastian in March quickly went from nightmare to heroism and is now coming full circle with an emotional “thank you” to the medical team who were on the scene .

16-year-old Nicolle Colsant, along with her grateful mother, boyfriend and almost a dozen family and friends, visited Health First’s First Flight rescue aircraft team in Melbourne this week for the opportunity to hug and say “thank you.” . ”

In March, Colsant and her boyfriend, 18-year-old Spencer Chatwood, were boating near Captain Hiram’s in Sebastian. The boat the two were traveling in became caught in a wake caused by another passing vessel and both Colsant and Chatwood were thrown from the boat.

While Chatwood escaped serious injury, Colsant hit her head near the propeller, rendering her unconscious. Chatwood quickly recovered from the spill, only to find that Nicolle was floating unconscious and, to make matters worse, discovered that her hair had become caught in the propeller, leaving her trapped in the water.

The teenager’s instincts and quick actions were the first of many life-saving events that led to Nicolle’s recovery.

“I came out of the water and then the boat passed right in front of me,” Chatwood remembers. “At this point she was already unconscious. I just knew straight away that she was going to get caught in the propeller. So I just jumped in the boat and grabbed a pair of scissors that I knew I had in my tackle bag to cut her loose.”

Nicolle Colsant, boating accident victim, poses next to the Health First First Flight rescue aircraft that saved her life. (Image “Health First”)
Boating accident victim Nicolle Colsant’s boyfriend, Spencer Chatwood. Chatwood immediately helped Colsant as she lay unconscious in the water after being pushed from the boat they were traveling in. (Image “Health First”)

Chatwood then pushed her against the boat with her head above water until another boat approached nearby to help and bring the two back to shore.

Colsant was taken to a local hospital and quickly flown by Health First’s First Flight team to Holmes Regional Medical Center, the only Level II trauma center in the region. First Flight is based in Brevard County and serves the entire county for more than 70 miles, but Indian River County and parts of Osceola and Orange counties also rely on it for emergency transport.

Colsant suffered a severe head injury, lost blood rapidly and had to be stabilized in the air ambulance.

“We intercepted her at Sebastian Hospital and when we made contact, of course our biggest concern was that she wasn’t breathing. “Fortunately, EMS had done a fantastic job of establishing an airway before we arrived,” explained flight nurse Jo Folsom.

“Our job was simply to continue the support we had already initiated. We put her in the helicopter, hooked up to a ventilator, gave her pain medication and sedatives, and continued life-saving measures until we got to the trauma center.”

“We didn’t know at first that she had actually gotten caught in the propeller and that her boyfriend was the one who released her. I mean, that alone saved her life. Otherwise she would have been a drowning victim. So once again everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do. The EMS crew did exactly what they were supposed to do and we went from there,” Folsom continued.

Responding Health First Flight crew members Prudence Meads (left) and Jo Folsom. (Image “Health First”)

Folsom says that while her days are filled with life-saving events, there are some reactions – like this one – that will be remembered forever.

“There are certain calls you don’t forget. This is one of those calls for me. Definitely. Absolutely. We talked about that call the day after. Most accident victims never want to do something like this (reunification), which I can certainly understand. Many people want to put it out of their minds or just move on. Your return is very special. It’s not every day that you get to meet them, hug them and see how well they’re doing.”

“It’s such a relief to know that we came out the other side and that she’s OK,” said Nicolle’s mother, Carmen Carrandi. And because of that initial response and such a quick response and everything they did to save her, she is here with us today.”

“We always wanted to find everyone who was involved in her rescue and make sure we thanked them and showed our gratitude and appreciation. So we started researching and I found the name on the card given to the hospital, which was such a nice gesture. And here we are today.”

Nicolle’s mother, Carmen Carrandi, hugs First Flight flight nurse Jo Folsom. Folsom was part of the responding flight crew that helped stabilize and transport Nicolle Colsant to Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center. (Image “Health First”)

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