Trauma Patient Rescue | Coast Guard Alaska | Full Episode

Through dense fog and freezing rain, the Coast Guard fights to revive a man desperately clinging to life. About a minute after we arrived at the scene, he crashed right in front of us. It was like walking into a

trauma

tized bay when a sailor goes missing at the hands of a helicopter crew. comb the seas to find him, the person was missing for about two hours before we got the call so we knew we had to move a little faster and in 10 foot seas a sinking ship depends on the Coast Guard to keep it going afloat, probably about five to ten feet above the boat and just as I'm floating over a trail line breaks Alaska's best wilderness, a place where beauty is shrouded by danger, here every day, the men and highly trained women of the U.S.

Coast Guard risk their lives to save others. America's deadliest waters are protected by the Alaska Coast Guard. Answer if the pelican students who call them for miles Yes, we just received news that there is a 63 year old man in a small town north of us. I called Pelican, who is going into cardiac arrest, so as soon as I found out, I started seeing the weather was pretty bad at the moment, pretty thick fog all the way down to the water, so it didn't take us long to fly in conditions. instruments with basically zero visibility. Hit some pretty significant weather, the ceilings were low all the way down to the water level at 200,300 feet, so with that low capacity we would have to go down to 200 feet, sail along, back up at 80,90 knots, it was a little harsher than we initially thought I was going to take Kent's USO bottle in a lifetime that way weeks ago and I said everything the company needs to establish and whether it will be that way when we get rid of the Commodore, everyone you.

What I have to do is here, we'll just take it as it comes. Well, I would say I usually try to get the

patient

up pretty quickly, but for this one, if that's okay with you, I'd like to pack him up. We had been told that the

patient

. I was surprised three times before even starting the case when you heard that a patient was already being treated with CPR. The only thing we were all thinking about was the next step. What is the next step? How do we get the patient to the helicopter and help him?

Fortunately, he saved this patient's life. The pelican weather was better than what we had en route, so visibility was good. The ceilings were quite high, so we didn't have to fight our way to the Pelican platform. His ambulance, yes, stopped access to the ferry terminal there. It's a little hairy, it's a narrow place that you have to press, you have to turn the pedal to be able to land in that confined area there and at that point I disembark the swimmer at the HS and they go to the clinic to check on the patient, the Patient had a heart attack this morning, right there we've been doing CPR nonstop for a couple of hours, now he stops breathing, stops heart rate, all uses a defibrillator to get him back, that's happened like three times.

It's pretty intense now, take him somewhere with better care, you know, yeah, yeah, it's one consciousness, yeah, yeah, sort of, I think they already had all that for you, so when we went into the clinic and they were giving us a verbal feed of what was going on with a patient, they had stabilized him but they were working on him and they were giving him breaths, everything ready, they are shocking about a minute after we were in Steve, you crashed right in front. of us, sorry CPR, we had to go straight to CPR and it was like walking into a

trauma

bay, there were people providing care and we just jumped in and tried to take control at that moment and use the resources that were on the scene to help. we packed the patient up and got him on the helicopter as fast as we could, we gave him an electric shock and he got a rhythm if that would stabilize his heartbeat and that allowed us to pack the patient up and get him to the helicopter before he crashed again.

It was his fourth night shot and I was waiting with the helicopter for a while, the

rescue

swimmer and doctor went to pack up the patient to make sure he was stable enough for transport, when they returned after only ten minutes or so, we knew that was. either a good sign because the patient was extremely stable and was the easy package to return or that something might be up when I was able to see Rob. I was able to look at him and noticed that he was sweating profusely and I'm thinking something is wrong. the rule here is this is not right, it's in bags all the time and that's when Rob told the captain, sir, we can't get this man to a hospital fast enough, once we get the patient to the cabin of the helicopter, in about 30 seconds it crashed.

When they gave him CPR again, it's very difficult to be trapped in that small space and go from chest compressions to breaths to chest compressions. It was very chaotic. The patient had a heart attack and was pronounced unconscious this morning and not breathing, so he knew that he was in bad shape and that he needed to get sick again as soon as possible. There's a simulation back there. They were too busy trying to keep this guy alive. We had done a couple of cycles of CPR on him. Yes, he's not breathing and it was exhausting. The crew and we had our flight mechanic, Ryan, and he saw what we were doing and jumped right in the moment of a situation like that, with the severity of life or death, it becomes an instinct and nothing more than an instinctive reaction.

They just jump in, they work together, it's a team like that situation, it was a 35 minute flight but it seemed like it took forever so the flight was longer, he got his vitals back and we're losing him. I think we lost it a total of three times in flight you get it back and then you lose it and you get it back and then you lose it it's just a roller

coast

er of ups and downs and you think okay we got it now we can sit back and monitor that as soon as we round Cabo Edgecumbe, that's when Mike said, "hey, sure, sure, sure, sure, and we had lost them again, when we got to Cape Edgecumbe, we knew we were almost there, but the patient continually said that they were just working hard with "I've never seen a team work so hard." On a patient, I've been doing this since 1995, but I've never had anyone come this close to dying and coming back so many times, so that's like playing on your mind because this is not a normal medevac case for a short ending. cigarette, he'll be there, the captain, ooh, as we approached, we were in a pretty bad state in the cockpit, he knew that a bit of hate was required on his landing and, as quickly as he could, he came over and took us there, we we direct.

That way and it was as smooth as I've ever felt like a normal training flight when we arrived, you know, we basically had the pedal to the metal which we were doing as fast as we could, the ambulance was waiting for CH. Finally, the medical staff here did a great job of being there ready to go, so as soon as we landed, we got him out and they were able to get him to the ambulance with minimal delay. The ambulance crew and sick people were rock stars. Another link in this patient's chain of survival was not a week after I found out that he had actually survived when I heard that this gentleman had not only survived but was thriving, he was awake, he was talking first of all.

I don't think so, I was absolutely shocked and more than anything it makes me proud once again of my team, the guys in the back, I can't say enough about him, they refused to let this man go, he's amazing and really It makes me humble to be part of your team. I'm very lucky to be alive, I'm just trying to recover for the most part and then we'll take it from there, it depends on how he recovers me. It is a beautiful day. Someone ordered it for me. We have been with them in the hospital the entire time I and my sisters were here and he is recovering from the situation he was in when he entered.

Like a miracle, he has nine lives and it is a number. They said that if he makes it spending the night will be a miracle and we sat with them and at 6:00 in the morning there were three of us sitting there and we said wow, he's still here when it took him a few days he started to open his eyes and it's a miracle, I love it, happy to be back home, yes absolutely, it's such a beautiful day too, yes I spent enough time in the hospital ago the same, he is my family, I think they all cook pretty well, whoever worked at sage Hospital did a tremendous job .

Oh, understand, it's a wonderful job, treat me like a king. I am more than happy to be home, very happy to be home. My family was really waiting for him to come home. I've been waiting for this day for a while. I would have to say thank you. to worry the entire community, a Belgian here, it's pretty impressive, it's very important to have the services that the Coast Guard provides to this community because it's pretty much the only way to get an almost instantaneous response, as close to instant as possible to have life. -Saving situations are handled after hearing the story of how long they worked and I want to say, I have to congratulate and congratulate every person in the community that helped Wilbur because without them and without the Coast Guard response we would not have Wilbur . this patient was in transit five times and the vpso reported that he had been shocked at least ten times before we were not seen and I had never heard of it in my career, seeing someone have a positive result after more than two hours of CPR is unprecedented and is a testament to how tough the people of Alaska are, ours, this guy just wasn't going to give up, so we weren't going to give up on him.

We learn that there is a ship that is sinking into the water. The sea state is believed to be eight to ten feet somewhere inland. There and with winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour, we got the call that there was a boat taking on water in the vicinity of the Fairweather grounds as a

rescue

swimmer, when you hear a boat taking on water, you just want to make sure you have all the equipment extra pump and possibly an extra raft, we find out that there is a boat that is taking on water. I think it's 70 feet and right now that's all we know as we head there.

We'll contact Sector Juneau, which has communications with the ship, and try to get more information, like how many people, what condition they're in, in that whole aerial z0p advisory in the air right now, zero five people a Ralph or Fairweather board and boards. They are ordered when the last time he spoke to you was and also if the water temperature in Sitka during the summer years was around 40 degrees, maybe 39 on the Fairweather grounds, it will be even lower, so there is definitely a feeling emergency when I heard there's a boat taking on water when we hit the Juneau sector, we were warned that the sea state was, I think, eight to ten feet somewhere there and winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour, so yeah, We're thinking if we're going to put down a swimmer and make a trail line handing over the Coast Guard Helo bomb a sonic sound ahead we'll be there probably about a minute or so you're faster you have anything else we're looking at are obstacles on the ship to see if they can remove obstructions from the antennas and just make sure that we have as safe an OHS platform as possible to be able to lift the captain and basically what we want to make sure is that he knows what to look for. because when we come into the picture we want to make sure that we're on the same page that what he expects us to do is what we're doing and we just want to make sure that they are only if there are some obstacles out there that can eliminate anything that you know to along the edge of the platform, things that will be blown away or become an obstacle or safety issue.

We want to make sure things are cleaned before we get there. All good, ready for delivery to a tree line. It's paramount, you know, everything we do is about keeping our guys safe and the safety of the people on the boat. There is nothing we are looking at other than whether we can safely put our swimmer down and get them on the boat safely, because we can. Then we'll just have more trouble, probably about five or ten feet above the boat and the crew members are pulling on the trail line which is essentially pulling me towards the bow of the boat and just as I'm hovering over the bow from the boat, the trail line is broken, sorry, I got lost on a Masonic fishing boat taking on water, the sea state at the scene is probably about 10 feet or more of sea and this is an old schooner boat, so which swings quite well, there are probably around 35 Knotted winds with gusts are not the most ideal lifting conditions just because of the sea state.

TheThe ship's winds made a couple of turns that worked by anticipating in one of them the species of king turtle on the mast and in the process of that the line of the trail. actually party kamme had to hold on to some guy in the water and they let him write the boat once i was in the boat. On one of the two pumps, I changed the location more like amidships, right in the middle of the boat instead of the bow, and then I just gave him the go-ahead to let him know I was ready to deliver the pump.

One of the most defiant boys lived at the bomb. It just landed on the deck and we moved it to the back of the ship just to get it out. The road is still a stressful atmosphere, but I think overall everyone is feeling better. They started at the first post, which is always a good sign. Everything I have done is already done on the ship and it is time for me to return to the helicopter. make sure you get them back to probably get a share as there is a lot of rigging and everything we decided and Cam agreed that it would be easier and safer for Cam to just jump off the boat on his own and swim a little away from the boat and then do it.

We'd pick up with a naked retrieval hook, looking like I was going to jump out from behind, ready to be picked up. I'm ready to be picked up, climbing right under the cabin door. Avatar. You know, unfortunately, the best result doesn't always happen. There is loss of life. Loss of property. In this case though it was the way everyone worked. together that didn't happen, I was successful, the ship arrived safely, everyone on board was safe, crew, we made it back safely, and as far as being in the Coast Guard and doing what we do, that's my name, Zack Rhine, I've been fishing.

Outside of Alaska, Southeast Alaska prevailed. Oh, 10 years and we've been liars for a long time. Well, we were on the Fairweather grounds, we had just dropped off our equipment and we informed one of the crew members that there was too much water down there and therefore, We had to start pumping it out, we kept taking on water and we didn't know about where it was coming from, so that's when the call came to the Coast Guard when we heard the Coast Guard helicopter coming, we knew everything was fine. It's actually really exciting because I haven't seen a Coast Guard helicopter like that near the ship.

It is completely imperative to have the help of the Coast Guard and know that you have someone there to pick you up or bring you something. It is a stress reliever. I don't know how many lives have been saved. I hope to see those guys again for a second so I can thank them properly. I'd love to buy you a beer in the pub and I want to thank the

coast

guard

. helicopter, the pilot, the guy who flew into the boat and hit the bow, they all acted very professional and did a good job and I'm glad they were there to help.

Nice to meet you, the miners sailed in the commander, if you then just move along the coast. Guard and I am the commanding officer at the closed Sitka air station, today we have several families from the air station, some of the pilots brought their families and today we went out to just enjoy the day and we are here at the Stick of Raptor Center you can learn about Raptors, so this is Sitka and Sitka is a female bald eagle. She came to us in 2002. You have questions about her. Good question. She was approximately two years old when she came to us for treatment.

The Male 8. The training center is a state-of-the-art facility and is basically designed as our third sin of separability. When a bird arrives here at the Raptor Center, we will take it to the clinic, treat it, and develop a plan based on its characteristics. injuries and when they are healthy enough to fly we will move them to the main flight training center where we can observe them in a stress-free natural environment until they are ready to return to the wild. She has 12 years old. this year, so he's been with us 10 years, learning a lot about bird flight, he's a snow owl, most of the time you don't see owls on the slopes, you know why you like flat surfaces and those flat surfaces.

Oh, Ben, walk. I'm Mindi Sandlin. I'm Married to War, Who's the CEO Here at Sick? One day was very good for us, today we had the opportunity to see the Eagles up close and the other Raptors. This has been a good opportunity to participate a little more. look at them closer find out a little more information about them what are the rules about eagle feathers is it a crime to possess them is still a felony yes because they can't prove that you didn't kill the eagle to get its feathers or to get its parts, so yeah, they are still protected even though they are no longer endangered, usually when you see eagles in the lower 48 states, they are in a zoo or something and you don't really get a chance to learn about them.

Alaska has it. a lot of Eagles and the opportunity to get up close to them and learn about them in a place where they have a lot of them, so it's definitely a unique Alaska experience for us in the family, you know, 3-0, keep in mind we're on the go now and Let's start: The person was missing for about two hours before he got the call, took a skiff and went to shore with his dog and never ended up coming back. Potty ignition is a normal rotor gauge, you get James Gibson and we. Keeping it here at Sitka Air Station right now we have a fishing boat called Windsong, one of its crew members landed with his dog and a 16-foot skiff at the South Dock on Warren Island, the captain who was He no longer contacted us. your crew member to make sure you're okay, okay so far what you say, the name of the ship was my name is Cameron Cullen, I'm here at Sitka Air Station and my rescue swimmer, this particular situation, the missing person, John took a skiff and left. to the shore with his dog just to go out and stretch his legs or go to the bathroom or whatever he needed to do and never came back.

The person was missing for about two hours before we got the call and we got the call. At midnight we had very good weather, a little limited visibility at times on the route, but in general I think we had a decent life, so I heard screams from all that, however, they have done well, every time we hear a missing person, I know I'm I'm going to use the EO IR, which is exactly the type of infrared camera we have on the back of the helicopter. We approach Warren Island and then I'm really focusing all my attention and the pilots up front are also trying to make contact.

The captain of the fishing boat so that we can locate them a hundred meters from the beach is now wondering that his parents simply ran away from her, something that they could not recover. Yeah, Spector, you know, 3-0, keep in mind we're now at 82 Christopher. The scenario of Castro and the air stations that cut off my work is to fight the mechanic and search through the window, so I must trust your tracking as we call it; Give me my frame of reference, there it is, yeah, she was right after three or so. Three eggs team briefs will be planted right on that beach there Chris, you have door speed on this table campus, you can alert the protector and then we catch the person even though we will see the member almost immediately get a lot of sandy beach we were able to put the Hilo on, we saw a spot early on and gave it a try, our Castro flight mech cruiser tricked us on the beach and then once we were safely in the deck chamber - our swimmer came out to speak. to the crew member, I'm sure, make sure he's okay, you see what the situation was when I walk up to John and I see that all his clothes are dry, but he didn't actually have any survival gear or anything like that with him.

I also noticed that he had no shoes and that his boat was high and dry and that there was tons of sand and water in it and that the engine was not in the back and that the fuel tank was not there, so my initial thought was ok , he's safe, we just missed his dog, we knew it from the loud noise of the helicopter and the rotor wash and everything he probably just ran away into the forest, the whole team started walking up and down the beach looking for the dog, but at this time At that time there was just no sign of him, but we knew that the survivor would return the next day and try to find him after Cam had assessed the survivor.

He felt that the best plan of action would be to try to get his skiff back into the water and get the man saving lives is the number one thing we are here to do, saving property is not really our job, however in this situation there was a beautiful day outside, so I guess it's okay, you know, let's try to help this guy. Let's take out as much as we can, we can decide that we are going to wade the boat with it past the first break and serve so that we have the fuel line connected and then we will drag it and inch towards the beach.

I put it in gear and he started to go. I thought everything was fine and then the fuel line ended up disconnecting from the engine and then I was dead in the water right there in the breakers and we all got together and started pulling the boat towards shore. I can tell at this point that survivor John is a little more mentally and physically fatigued just from being stranded on that beach the last few hours, so we knew we had to move a little faster to get this boat to shore. and tie him securely so we can take him home.

Names John who lives Craig Alaska working on the boat and we headed back from Ketchikan taking the boat back and stopped at Warren Cove at the wrong time with the tides and waves. Coming to get back out I have swamps mekka dr. Not Joe, the captain didn't know what was going on, it was dark, I couldn't get in touch with him so he ended up calling the Coast Guard and they came and rescued me and at that point Mickey decided to take off because he didn't. like the helicopter we had to let him come back - Craig - the captain brought the boat back to Craig the next morning we went back to the cove retreat so we kissed and Mickey great I was very impressed I think the Coast Guard went up and Beyond helping me, they were worried not only about me, about my dog, they also tried to help me get off the skiff, not only did they grab me by the neck and say we were gone, it took a long time. of their day just to help me made me feel very comfortable and safe and I would like to thank Jim, Kam and Cris from the coast

guard

, they all went out of their way, you know, to help me and me.

I really appreciate it, good morning ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the commanding officer. I would like to welcome you to the Aviation Survival Technician 1st Class Retirement Ceremony. Noll Hutton station attention. My name is Knoll Hutton and my rank is Aviation Survival Technician First Class. Today is my retirement, twenty-two and a half years in the Coast Guard, I present the colors and salute. This was my first air station as a rescue swimmer on Noel's last station, so I learned a lot under his mentorship. He has done a lot for the United States Coast Guard and I am sorry to see him on his last day and to be here to celebrate with him as it is a pleasure.

Hello, everyone. Think about our guest here today. Noel's guests for coming and joining us as we take a few minutes today to celebrate. Noel's career and achievements Knowle is a pillar here at the air station, he is a true professional, but those who know him know that he is a quiet professional. Noll doesn't talk much about his accomplishments and what he does, but they do have some questions. He is a hero Nola is a man who for his entire adult professional career has been willing to walk through the door and jump into the ocean and risk his life so that others can live.

It takes a special person in a group of outstanding people. Noll is an outstanding God, I'm going to miss the fly here, Alaska helicopter flying, there is nothing like it in the world, not only flying in the best country, but I am also flying with the best crew and the best pilots in the world , but what drove me most of the Coast Guard. We were there to help others. We were always there to help others, but I especially want to thank my wife Lisa. It was about her. My family. That's why I do this to my mom.

My mom was a single mother. she dedicated her life to me and my brother, everything she did was for us, she is the strongest woman I ever knew, she just took me to swim practice, got me involved in swimming and I think looking back if you know, It wasn't because of her that sparked my interest. In those things I would never have had this job I didn't know I was going to be in this speech and that was a very happy moment I am exploding with admiration for him happiness the mother could not be more proud than me of the son he has been in the Coast Guard for 22 years, he is number one for 22 years, this sailor has been on watch while some of us were in our bunks at night, this shipmate was on dutyguard in those years when the storm clouds of the SAR were visible. looming on the horizon, this shipmate was on watch many times he would glance at land and see his family needing that hand to hold on during those difficult times, but he was still on watch I was on watch so that we, our families and our countrymen could sleep soundly and safely today we are here to tell you, shipmate, the guard is relieved, relieved by those you have trained, guided and directed, shipmate, you are relieved, we have the guard.