In a few weeks, Sarasota Fire and EMS crews will begin carrying whole blood along with them on emergency calls. It is a potentially life-saving measure aimed at stabilizing trauma victims by administering blood transfusions before they arrive at the hospital. The program, which begins Feb. 10, could mean the difference between life and death for patients who might otherwise bleed out before receiving hospital care. For Sarasota Fire Department's Assistant EMS Chief Brian Nadler, the implementation of this program comes nearly two decades after a family tragedy left an indelible mark on his life. Nadler said the trauma of losing his sister-in-law, Kerri Baker, has followed him for years. "Kerri was always out to help people, always the life of the party, always laughing and having a great time, and she was volunteering herself with her 16-hand stallion," Nadler said. Baker, a devoted Orlando-area mother and teacher, was an avid horse rider. In October 2005, while volunteering at one of the attractions at a Halloween event, she suffered a devastating accident that changed the course of her family's life. A family friend who was at the event was the one who called Nadler. "She called me directly and said Kerri was just flown out by helicopter. She fell off the horse, but I think she's going to be OK. She was talking, and everything was normal," Nadler said, recalling the moment he first heard about the accident. But by the time family members got to the hospital, the situation had taken a dire turn. "I actually went in to park the car, and as I'm walking in, my wife just walked out and said, 'She's dead' because they could not do anything once she got to the facility. She went into cardiac arrest," he said. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/sarasotas-ems-whole-blood/67-fa6edacc-919e-4f37-8f04-980f020a06ca