A "shocking story' with a happy ending.

[esprit]

A letter from Wayne Scott father of WILD students Jordan and Joel Scott. The Scott family has asked us to publish this story as much as possible to increase awareness of the value of AED's.

Subject: inspirational happy ending story and extolling the life saving AED machines.


A Scott family story:

This past September 2 of my sons enrolled in a 3 month program (called WILD, learning whitewater rescue,wilderness first aid and EMT training) with an outdoor adventure company (Esprit, based on the Ottawa river by Davidson Quebec)
Their program started in Northern Quebec, USA, and working south to Mexico. They were in Mexico from mid October to the end of November.

On Tuesday the 18 November 2008 I received a very frantic call from my son Jordon (age 21) that my son Joel (age25) was in an intensive care unit in a Mexican hospital on life support. We received the call around 2:30 pm our time. I found out that he was in a Kayak going through class 2 whitewater and that suddenly his Kayak overturned and that he did not right it immediately. Jordon saw this and went back upstream and got his brother Joel out of the Kayak to shore and immediately started CPR, miraculously their was a raft right there that had an AED machine in it , another young person Caleb put the machine on my son Joel and activated it twice, starting Joels heart. They called the esprit base for transport, got him in a van which was another miracle that one was near by in remote Mexico. The adventure company staff and Wild students continued with CPR and drove Joel to a hospital in Xalapa Mexico.

My wife and I could not get a flight to Mexico until 8:00 am Wednesday 2 of our children and a friend of Joels got a flight at 9:00 Wednesday my daughter Amie flew in from New York on Wednesday as well for a total of 6 of us on route. Working the logistics out of the travel was Quite overwhelming it seemed like the amazing race only the Scott family travel purpose was much more important than anything Monetary. My wife and I arrived in Mexico at 1m and got to Vera Cruz at 4:00pm we were met by Esprit staff and drove 2 hours to Xalapa. Arrangements for us to see Joel at 7:00 pm were made with the hospital staff. Prior to going into the hospital my wife and I were meet by all the WILD students and Esprit staff with flowers and cards to show their support for Joel and our family (most of the students and staff slept on the hospital lawn to see Joel off). We meet with the icu doctor and then went into see Joel.
My other 3 children and Joels friend arrived at 12:00 and went in to see him in ICU. Arrangements were made for a medivac flight from Vera Cruz at6:00am Thursday
I went to the hospital at 4:00am thurs and paid the hospital bill to discharge Joel. at 5:00am we followed the ambulance 100kms (Mexican 100kms) to the airport in Vera Cruz where we meet the Canadian medivac crew, it took the crew 2 hours to stabilize Joel for the flight on the Lear jet to London , Ontario. As it turned out the flight had to land in Toronto, because of a heavy snowstorm, then they send him by ambulance down the 401 in a snowstorm to London. Mean while my wife and I got on a plane to Mexico city at 8:00am our children rearranged their flights and meet us in Mexico thence we flew onto Toronto.We went through the airport and meet 2 friends who said they had some good news for us, that Joel was now conscious, tubes were out and breathing on his own and that he knew his brother Jordon and was asking where he was. There were a few tears at this time. We drove from Toronto to London to the London Health Science centre where Joel was in the cardiac care unit. Hospital staff allowed us 2 at a time to go in and see Joel. He was sitting up in bed smiling and quite giddy from all the drugs in his system and was amazed he was in London. I was told by a Nurse that a Cardiologist and interns went to see Joel the Dr. told the interns that this boy not only was revived from a stopped heart but he drown and was revived without any brain damage, apparently the word miracle was used.

During this incident Jordon and other young people were on their laptops talking to friends on face book and skype phones all over Canada and the world.

Joel had a defibulator implanted 27 Nov 08 and was discharged from hospital later that day, 8 days after his kayak incident.
The above is an overview of what happened there are many more astounding details to this story. .
We would like to convey to the world , that CPR training AED (Automated Electronic Defibrilator) and PAD machines do save people. The hospital staff were astounded that , the adventure company had an AED machine and knew how to use it. Comments I heard from the WILD students were that Espirt was the only adventure company they knew of that has an AED machine. I hope that more groups have them in the future, so there may be more good news stories.

Sincerly,

Wayne Scott

Joel is currently in at home and has made a 100% recovery.... he is currently planning his next paddling adventure.

jim

[dixie_boater]

What a remarkable story with a wonderful outcome. Very few are so fortunate as this young man. I didn't know a AED could be transported on a raft.

[esprit]

We have carried an AED on all our trips for the past 5 years. We had never used our machine before but this time it paid off. We carry it in a pelicase and strap it in like an extra first aid kit.

They are getting even smaller and cheaper as time goes on.

jim

[Louie]

bring those things but can we please leave the whistle at home? I am very glad you had that car battery thing along on your trip. I am slso glad the kayaker is doin OK.

[jdulaney]

In my recent CPR class, we had a discussion about this and just a couple things to keep in mind! You CAN'T use an AED IN the water, and the person CAN'T be lying in a puddle. You especially want to be careful that there isn't water connecting the victim and the rescuer!
Please get trained if you are going to take one with you.

It's wonderful to hear that this turned out so well. Hope this young man continues to improve.

[MarkE]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad to hear that your son is doing well. I have a question, though. You wrote:

I found out that he was in a Kayak going through class 2 whitewater and that suddenly his Kayak overturned and that he did not right it immediately.

Do you know why he flipped over in class II and why he didn't right himself immediately? Did he hit his head on a rock? Did he pass out and then roll over? I'm curious, as your son sounds like a competent paddler.

Mark

[esprit]

Joel had previously been diagnosed with a heart condition called hypertrophic cardio myopathy... which in short means "an enlarged heart". This is the same condition that you here about when athletes suddenly drop on the playing field. He had been cleared medically to participate in WILD and we suspect (but do not know for sure) that this was related to his capsize.

It is not uncommon for people with heart related conditions to live an active and adventurous life... but ... medically ... we are all "an experiment of one" and suddenly Joel was upside down.

There is a lot of learning from this story... and many steps along the way that contributed to Joel's successful recovery.... the first of which were having a SAT phone and AED on hand to make the save and evacuation happen quickly.

As a previous poster mentioned... it is important the subject is out of the water... dried off and that there is no water connecting the subject and the rescuers.

jim

[Jim Michaud]

bring those things but can we please leave the whistle at home?

In Connecticut it's a $75 fine if you don't have an audible signaling device, such as a whistle, in your boat. This includes canoes and kayaks.

[BF14]

i was one of the students that was on that trip that day in mexico and am so thankful that we were prepared like we were for that situation and any other that may have occurred. It sends shutters down my spine imagining joel being effectively dead and us not having the things that we did to bring him back. I think that people in this industry should seriously look at carrying these devices. This sort of thing may not happen often but imagine being helpless to it if it does... i cant imagine it being a very good feeling myself......

Pura vida

Ben

[QuicoReed]

[quote]Joel is currently in at home and has made a 100% recovery.... he is currently planning his next paddling adventure.

Joel had previously been diagnosed with a heart condition called hypertrophic cardio myopathy... which in short means "an enlarged heart". This is the same condition that you here about when athletes suddenly drop on the playing field. He had been cleared medically to participate in WILD and we suspect (but do not know for sure) that this was related to his capsize. ...
... There is a lot of learning from this story... [/quote]

OK, maybe I'm going to have be the bad guy and say something that will not be popular.

I'm glad your son survived. I am also very glad this didn't occur at a moment in which someone else's life depended on HIM.

There are some sports where you can get away with having a medical condition that might cause temporary loss of consciousness. WHITEWATER CANOING AND KAYAKING IN NOT ONE OF THEM.

He could have been in class I water and still drowned because of his condition. If that had happened in more dangerous water, someone else could have gotten hurt trying to rescue him. If Esprit didn't happen to have the right equipment, he would have died. I've NEVER heard of ANYONE carrying one of these around and the odds are slim that the next time someone will be able to use another one to revive him.

He may love paddling sports, but it just seems wrong that he would go back out on the water with this condition. Even if he says he's taking the risk himself, he's not the only one at risk. When I boat, I need to know that the guy next to me is skilled enough and strong enough to help me if I need it. And I have a responsibility to be there for him (or her).

I would really hesitate to boat with someone if they told me, "hey, man, keep an eye on me, I have a medical condition and I can black out at any time. OK, let's go boating!"


Yes, there is some learning from this story. Maybe it's time to learn how to make a reasonable assessment of one's own medical condition and not put oneself and others at risk?

Sorry to be a bummer. I don't want to hear how he drowned the second time.

Curtis

[Louie]

I am louder that most whistles

[yarnellboat]

Quico,

Good post, I think it's OK to ask tough questions and further the learning from these incidents. Hopefully, Jim (Esprit), BF14 and others won't take offence to your asking.

However, you've selected specific quotes to emphasize your concern, while choosing to overlook other information, such as "he was medically cleared to participate in the program".

Given that we don't know the details of this paddler's medical history (I don't assume that he'd regulary passed out previously and expected people to watch for it), there's no point speculating about this particular guy.

The point of the story is that he was there and did get in trouble, and that a family is very lucky/happy that he was travelling with a well-prepared outfit. Kudos to those involved. Hopefully it will encourage others to equip themselves with life-saving gear.

And your point is that we need to assess our own abilities and conditions, which is a fair point, but the particulars of this situation may or may not have been as you characterized them, so we should probably keep the points general and balanced and avoid stating any negative assumptions. Thanks for the reminder though about assessing yourself and your group.

I'm glad for the guy and his family that he's OK and is able to paddle again. Nice to learn lessons from the stories that end well!

PY.

[BF14]

hey guys,

i agree with both of the points. if a guy came up to me and said that he blacked out repeatedly and it could happen at any time and wanted to paddle with me i would definately steer my boat elsewhere...... the fact was that this had never happened to him and he had in fact been cleared by doctors to paddle and participate in this activity..... But i agree that people should question and learn from this and not let it flow by without a questioning glance....

However my point i guess was more geared towards the commercial side of things. because these devices are simple and easily carried on a raft why not take them. Lets face it the people that go on rafting trips are sometimes not the healthiest people in the world. For instance while paddling the upper gauley this fall i witnessed a woman die of a heart attack on a commercial rafting trip. Could the end of that story have changed with the use of these devices or not i dont know but the odds would drastically go up i think. anyway thats my 2 cents.


Cheers,
Ben

[esprit]

Quico,

Thanks for bringing up the points you did.

Here are some additional details that can clarify Joel's medical situation.

Joel's original condition was medically cleared to participate in WILD and live a healthy active life. He believed (as one would) that he could continue with his active and adventurous lifestyle.

While recovering in hospital Joel had an internal defibrilator implanted in his chest. The medical staff have advised him that this automatic devise will "kick in" in the event this situation were to reoccur. Many people have this implant and live very active and adventurous lives. So... medically he had been cleared to continue his previous lifestyle.

Hope that somewhat clarifies the current medical recommendations and conditions.

jim

[Louie]

If anyone with a medical condition wants to paddle with me you are welcome but the same rules allow I will do anything i can to help you as long as it don't put my butt on the line. Rememmber also I ain't a Doctor either