Garden Grove, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/22/2014 -- Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) is a globally-acclaimed training program in the management of acute trauma cases, now adopted in over sixty countries. While it exists as the standard protocol for initial assessment and treatment in most trauma cases, its origins lie among the mangled wreckage of a small aircraft in a frozen Nebraska field. Rarely taken public, this fascinating story is finally being exposed by Randy Styner, who lay in the field on that tragic night in 1976.

‘The Light of the Moon - Life, Death and the Birth of Advanced Trauma Life Support’ fuses the story of ATLS with the author’s own heartfelt journey to discover the truth behind the crash that took his mother’s life.

Synopsis
One night in early 1976, the world of trauma medicine changed forever in a frozen Nebraska field where Dr. James Styner crashed his small airplane with his wife and four children aboard. The experience of the eight hours he spent isolated and awaiting rescue that never came, his journey to the local hospital where he found what he perceived to be inadequate care, and his family's evacuation and arrival at the sanctity of Lincoln General Hospital compelled him to develop a revolutionary new concept of emergency medical care.

That night Advanced Trauma Life Support was born, and grew to become the standard of emergency trauma care throughout the world. Today it continues to save countless lives and it continues to grow.

This is the story of ATLS and that tragic night for the Styner family, but it is also the story of the author's personal journey to find the truth about the accident that not only took the life of his mother, but nearly took his - and how doing so was one of the most important things he ever did.

The author believes that his story will appeal to readers both inside and outside of the medical world.

“Naturally, the immediate audience is the tens of thousands of medical professionals who have taken the ATLS course over the past thirty years. It’s the first time the story of the concept’s origins have been told by someone involved in the crash. However, my own personal experience will resonate with anyone who likes a true non-fiction story steeped in emotion. As an adult, I can’t shake my curiosity about what happened that night and my book dives into an intimate and personal endeavor to discover the truth,” says Styner.

Continuing, “While committing this story to paper, I was unaware of just how popular it would become. I’ve been invited to speak at the 2014 International Conference of Emergency Medicine in Hong Kong later this year; it’s great to see the world taking such an interest in the origin of this life-changing medical advancement.”
Readers have also been lavish with their praise.

“A heart-breaking true story of how a a plane carrying a family with four small children crashed on a freezing night, bringing instant death to the mother and horrific injuries to the rest of the family. Written by one of the survivors, this is a moving, carefully researched and well-written story of how their life-shattering experience led to the development of a new approach to trauma care which has saved countless lives. A must read!” says KS Dixon, reviewing the book on Amazon.

Anthony Farley was impressed with the book’s ability to grab readers’ emotions, adding, “This book should be required reading for all emergency care workers just so they know the history of one of the great revolutions in trauma care. It's also a powerful story of a man's discovery of his past and the growth he went through as he explored an event that forever changed him and his family. Tears came to my eyes more than a few times at the end of some of the chapters.”

‘The Light of the Moon - Life, Death and the Birth of Advanced Trauma Life Support’, published by Lulu, is available now: http://amzn.to/1jih27K.

About the Author
The author lives in California.