Went into the woods on halloween...

[Trevor]

...and brought out a hunter who was having a heart attack!

The call came in to 911 for a hunter having chest pains. Location: the woods behind my house. The guy called home when he couldn't make it out of the woods. Home called 911. Nobody was able to reach the guy on the phone after that. The call came in about 6 PM (just about full dark) - it was raining lightly. Location description was sketchy - he has said he was on a trail. There are a few trails out there in the woods....all of which lead in opposite directions.

Myself and another Paramedic got there first along with the Fire Department. None of the other responders knew anything about the trail or where it's nearest entrance was located, etc. We got a search party organized quickly and I let them to the trail and up to the point where it split. At this point we had state police with us as well. At the split we ran into the guy's family who were out with flashlights and calling to him. This was a good thing as they had come from one of the other main trails so we figured we could focus on sweeping the area in the direction of the other trail branch.

We found him at the end of one trail - about 1/2 mile from the trail entrance. He was down but breathing - ash grey colored and shivering. By flashlight we did an assessment and found him to be likely having an MI (heart attack) and also mildly hypothermic. I asked the Fire guys to get their Argo buggy - oneathem 6-wheel ATVs you see Jim Shockey driving on TV. The Argo arrived just as we got the oxygen, aspirin and IV taken care of...perfect timing.

We loaded him into a Stokes basket - basically a big rescue toboggan with metal handles all around. The Stokes was then lashed to the frame of the Argo. This Argo had a roll cage (of sorts) on it, making it a tight fit between the patient and the ceiling of the cage. Off we went down the trail with the FD and PD guys jogging behind.

One of the things you want to do for a heart attack patient is to lessen the strain on the heart as it is in a compromised condition and oxygen demands are critical. As you can imagine, being strapped into a toboggan and riding on your back and head first up a rough trail on an Argo ATV is not exactly a tranquil experience. Also, hypothermia can put an extra strain on the heart - or at least make it more "irritable" (likely to go into arrest). As we bounced along the trail I watched the patient's heart monitor show a few different rhythms - including a few that gave us worry that we might need to pull over and start CPR. Luckily we got him out intact.

Once out of the woods we got him quickly into the ambulance and en route to the hospital. I am happy to report the trip was uneventful.

I am quite certain the hunter would have died out there on the trail If we hadn't reached that guy and started care/got him out as quickly as we did. Between the heart issues and hypothermia he was in a bad, bad way. Despite the austere conditions and confusion that occurred a LOT of things went really well. I didn't expect to be out in the woods on Halloween and I sure didn't expect to be hunting for a fellow hunter!!

-Trevor

[Gurn]

That was a great rescue story. That poor man had to be scared to death thinking this was the end. I'm sure he and his family are thanking God for folks like you.
Great job.

[adkhunter]

Great job Trevor !

ED

[Roland]

You did great Man! He would have died in The Adirondacks, where cell phone towers are frowned upon.

[huntadk]

Nice job Trevor. Glad to hear you got him out. Hope he's doing well now.

[fishnfool59]

thanks for sharing that with us trevor.makes ya think about maybe packing that one xta sweatshirt or coat you thought was gonna take up too much room in the pack and you probably won't need anyhow.you never know when that could be one of us out there hoping and praying for help,wondering if this is it. i'm sure you were all saints to that man.it must feel good to know you helped save that mans life to maybe hunt another day.great job trevor.

[Trevor]

Thanks guys

It's true his cell phone probably saved him. If he hadn't called home (and home hadn't had the sense to call 911) he probably would have made the 6 o'clock news.....sometime/someday after he was found.

It wasn't particularly cold on Halloween but it was raining and he was soaked. I think once he laid down from the chest pain his body temp dropped really quickly. The type of heart attack he was having is somewhat unique in that it drops the victim's blood pressure (other types don't). We had IV fluids available on scene but held off on them until we got him to the ambulance because we keep some in a special warmer...injecting cold fluid into a hypothermic patient can kill them. I believe he was wearing just a basic set of camo coveralls (cotton? felt like it) over street clothes. I think a wool shirt would have done a lot to keep his core warm once he got wet - could have bought him more time if needed.

Another thing that would have helped immensely is if he had been carrying chewable aspirin with him. When you take a look at the really rudimentary dynamics of a heart attack it is basically just a clot that grows quickly in the vasculature of the heart. Aspirin is (among other things) and anti-clot medication and it truly makes a difference in terms of slowing down the clotting process. If you have any risk factors or family history of heart problems then it is probably a good idea to bring some chewable aspirin along with you into the woods. 3 81mg baby aspirin tablets is what we give on the ambulances - it's all you need in the field and could conceivably buy you quite a bit of time.

-Trevor

[adkhunter]

Thats a great suggestion Trevor. As we get older (sometimes stupider) We forget that we are also more vulnerable than we think. Heck I don't carry a first aid kit. Didn't I say stupider. Survival gear yes but no first aid kit? Gotta rethink all this.

Ed

[Roland]

I carry neither I got a flask though.... I better get smart.

[Trevor]

Hey just an update on this story...

I found out the guy we rescued made a full recovery...had a number of blocked arteries repaired surgically but he's been home for awhile. Hopefully he'll be back in the woods next fall too.

-Trevor