No, the helicopter itself didn't hit my home. The pilot, with a rather nasty gash on his chin from the impact of bird and plexiglass, and covered in blood, made a perfect landing on the River Mountain Trail near Boulder Beach on the shores of Lake Mead not far from Hoover Dam.

So you're probably wondering how this 'hits' my home. Well, if you've followed my blog you may recall a post I did about kids growing up in Vegas, and one that grew into an amazing young man named David. He had accomplished quite a bit in his time, and among other things has been a helicopter flight instructor, flown in the unforgiving weather of Alaska, and was saving lives as an EMS pilot. There were a number of pictures and some video of him in action in That Post.

Well, my stepson Dave had returned to live in his favorite place, Las Vegas. He's flying tour helicopters out to "The Ditch", the affectionate term pilots use for flying the Grand Canyon. With this job, no more long 7 day, 12 hour shifts and 14 hour duty days never knowing exactly where or at what hour you'll fly to next. Mostly daylight, out over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, land at the bottom of the canyon, for some a stop at the Skywalk Bridge and Indian and Cowboy villages. Then come back with a route over Valley of Fire, past Frenchman's Mountain to near downtown, south along the Strip and back to McCarran.

Sounds like a job a mother could love, without having the heart attacks of the Alaska and EMS stories and asking again..."You landed where?" Glaciers, ice fields, snow covered pinnacles, to day or night....convenience store parking lots, country roads, highways, football fields, wind farms, oil rigs...fill in the blank, and I think he landed it.

It turns out Dave wasn't quite done saving lives.

The other day, after some very grueling weeks, the hubby and I were finally having a moment to catch our breath. Then his dad gets a call...unusual since it's from Dave and he's working. It starts with their typical "Hey Dad - What's up Dave", and went on nonchalantly that his helicopter was hit by a bird and he had to land, everyone on board was OK, just a little messy. After landing he served them the champagne they would have had on the floor of the canyon. Oh, and when on the ground he asked if everyone was alright, they said "yes, but you aren't." He said he had a cut on his chin and they said he might need a few stitches. Probably take him to Boulder City Hospital, just a heads up and he'd call if he needed anything.

Even though it didn't sound like much of an event and he hadn't asked, we decided to head over there. Strangely enough, when we arrived at the hospital he wasn't there. Boulder City Airport, where his dad assumed he had landed when he said he was at 'Boulder', is just down the street. A few moments later a Park Service Ambulance arrived at the ER, and out comes Dave, neck bandaged and all covered in blood. I don't do well with that, and fortunately it wasn't all his, some was bird, but it sure didn't make me feel much better.

He was cleaned up a bit and they allowed us to come in. I was fine until I saw the gash on his chin opened wide enough to lay a pencil in it. He greeted us with his typical cheery "Hi Guys," like he would any other time. The ER staff called him "Our Sulley" and "Hero over Hoover", and he just smiled as much as he could and rolled his eyes.

We brought him home, but had to run out again. For some reason he just wasn't in the mood for the chicken made for dinner. He joked he'd had enough bird for one day and would prefer something soft since his chin wasn't very comfortable. The phone began ringing and that went on into the night. Dave's wallet had been lost in the shuffle, so the hunt was also on for that. It was later found in the ambulance and secured... secured so well that the next morning it couldn't be found. The next day was filled with missteps like this and getting pulled into dozens of directions, but I won't bore you with the frustrating details.

It wasn't until the news reports came on that we really got a feel for what Dave had done, since his descriptions were very modest. KVVU FOX 5's Story and Video Interview with his UK Passengers was amazing. Their description and how they felt about the reactions of their 'Hero Pilot' was great, I especially love the accent. (Or is it us that have the accent since they're English?)

KTNV Channel 13 also did a good story, and a few more details found in their video. Unfortunately the online version was cut short and left out the line that made Dave chuckle a bit. Nina had said that her co-anchor Steve was right, "It looked like he parallel parked it on the bike trail....impressive." Dave said, "Yeah, I guess I did nail the landing pretty well."

KVBC Channel 3 found out that it wasn't a goose and what kind of bird it really was, and that it weighed an estimated 10#. That, the size of the hole and more is found in their Story and Video.

Of course there were requests for interviews, but that's just not Dave's style. I understand and appreciate that they wanted to give him the recognition he deserves, but he seems satisfied with what he receives from family, friends and his employer. To him, anything more is being showy.

He just did his job, what he enjoys and trained for so many hours to do. Fly the chopper, land the chopper, and do the best you can do whatever the conditions. How many others do the same, using the skills they've honed to be the best they can at what they do. Military, medical, police, fire, and many others out there push themselves beyond the status quo and provide "Service before Self."

While I'm sure he's flattered and has to feel pretty good about himself, he's just not looking for a pat on the back. "Besides", he joked later, "Really, ask anyone. Your face is sewn together, can't shave, and you're sore and have a bit of a headache. Do you really want to go on TV like this? I think that's a NO."

Although I will admit I'm both amazed and proud, I'm not writing this to boost Dave's hero status, that he humbly doesn't want. That's even why I waited a few days to write about it. Still, his story hits home. My home, in more ways than one.....and yours as well.

While we all don't necessarily save other's lives, what we do, surely can have a profound effect on them. For those here at Active Rain in real estate and related industries, we touch people right where they live. What we do effects their lives for years, sometimes even a lifetime or for family generations to come. We can use Dave's story as a vivid reminder that we're here to do a very important job, need do what we're trained to do to the best of our ability, and always give our 'passengers' the best possible outcomes we can provide, whatever the circumstances.

If you are interested in relocating to Las Vegas or would like more information on Las Vegas real estate, rentals or property management, please email me, Roberta LaRocca, at roberta@search4lasvegashomes.com, or call 702-354-8988. I look forward to hearing from you!