GRATIOT — Monroe resident Lana Haffele walked into the EMS Appreciation Week dinner in Gratiot with a cane in the middle of June — and for that she was grateful. 

She had special reason to give accolades to both the Gratiot First Response and Gratiot Fire Department. Responders were there to help her after she nearly lost her leg — and her life — in a motorcycle crash last year.  

Haffele and her husband, Dave, were out for a leisurely ride on a sunny day in mid-May 2017. The veteran riders have taken trips all over the country. Haffele has had her Harley low rider for more than three decades. 

Just as the pair drove into Gratiot around 6 p.m. on Wisconsin 11, things changed quickly when a car in front of them slowed down to turn onto Village Road. Haffele didn’t see the truck’s quick brake lights and hit it, eventually sliding underneath the vehicle. 

“I sat up and thought I was OK,” she said.

When the truck went to pull to the side of the road, it ran over Haffele’s right leg. 

“That is what did most of the damage,” she said.

Local farmer Ralph Stietz of the Gratiot Fire Department was less than a mile away and was one of the first people on the scene. 

“All I really did was make sure traffic was stopped, getting it rerouted,” Stietz said. “I’m not on the EMS so there wasn’t much I could do.”

Alex Bird, a firefighter and Gratiot native, was also there quickly.

Joanna Neff drove the ambulance to the scene where she, JR Kingery and Dani Curran, all Gratiot First Response members, assessed the scene. 

“We just started cutting off her clothes and putting pressure on her right away,” Neff said.

Med-Flight was called and Haffele was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison. 

Haffele ended up with a broken pelvis and scapula bone in her shoulder from the crash, along with several bumps and bruises. 

She underwent 10 surgeries that totaled around 43 hours. She doesn’t really recall her first four days in the hospital.

Haffele said she attributes her recovery — and even her life — to the quick work of the Gratiot First Response and firefighter team. 

“They said when I got to the hospital that whomever put the tourniquet on put it on perfectly and saved my life,” Haffele said, motioning toward Kingery, who applied the tourniquet.

Haffele said the doctors were almost certain that they would have to amputate her leg but that tourniquet, along with some doctor ingenuity, were an integral part in saving her leg – and saving her.

“It was wonderful; being able to put faces to names,” Haffele said of being at the event to recognize those who helped her. “I guess if you have to be in an accident, this is a good place to have one. It is a good crew here; an amazing crew.”

She said she couldn’t put into words or emphasize just how much gratitude she has for Kingery and all of the training he went through that eventually saved her life. 

“I am very grateful to everyone that was there that evening,” Haffele said. “I’ve still got my leg.”