Fort Simpson (Dec 03/99) - Steven Vandell was honoured Thursday for saving Floyd Browning Isaiah's life.

Vandell received the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem life-saving certificate for helping Isaiah survive after a hunting accident.

The pair, along with Steven's five-year-old son, Ben, were on hunting trip on March 14 of this year when misfortune struck.

Riding from the Cli Lake area, Floyd's snowmobile bottomed out, causing his 7- millimetre Magnum rifle to discharge into his lower left leg. The result was gruesome.

"I heard a big bang," Steven recalled. "I thought his snowmobile backfired."

When he turned around to take a look, he saw Floyd standing up with his lower leg dangling limply and blood staining the snow.

"He still stood up for 10 to 20 seconds before falling into the snow," he said.

As he rushed to help Floyd, Steven attempted to reassure Ben, who was becoming hysterical over the harrowing situation.

"I kept the snowmobiles running so he wouldn't hear Floyd screaming," he said.

Among the most vivid of his memories is the distinct smell of gun powder. It's something he remembers as he was applying a tourniquet around Floyd's leg. Having been trained in first aid and regularly re-certified through his workplace, he then placed him on a toboggan, elevated his injured limb using some cushions, strapped him in and began the two-hour drive back towards Fort Simpson.

He received help from Gabe Hardisty and the Soto brothers along the way, he noted. He periodically gave Floyd Tylenol to dull the pain and also asked him a favour for Ben's sake.

"I asked him to bite his tongue or something. I asked him to stay quiet ... Floyd's one tough character," he said.

Although his leg had to be amputated, Floyd's still able to walk today. He said he doesn't remember much about that day, as he slipped in and out of consciousness, but he has thanked Steven sincerely for his actions.

The life-saving ordeal wasn't a first for Steven. He rescued a man who had been thrown from a vehicle in the Wrigley area to Fort Simpson nine years ago.

Seven years ago, near the Kakisa River, he extended a co-worker's life by shooting a black bear that had attacked him, knocked him to the ground and then tore into his scalp. He administered first aid and took him for medical attention.

Looking back on these incidents, Steven mentioned that his friends were starting to wonder if he was a lifesaver or the source of bad luck.

"All the guys I hunt with were getting a little leery there for a while," he said, laughing.