Mike Gulbraa's hands and feet were numb, his vision had narrowed to pinpoints and he could feel his abdomen filling with blood.
For two hours, Gulbraa had been propped against the base of a tree in Wyoming's rugged Absaroka Mountains watching his family watch the life drain out of him. He didn't think he had much time left.
Then he heard the helicopter.
"I look upon air medicine as the safety net for rural America," said Dr. Dan Hankins, co-medical director for Mayo Clinic's medical transport system and a board member of the international Association of Air Medical Services.