Shelley Glover - WTF, no suction device?!?!?

[PhysicsMan]

From a story in the Washington State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstat...ocal/74395.php , it sounds to me like she died not because of simply hitting her head, but because she was without a pulse for 8 minutes, and that the reason that this happened is because the EMTs on the medievac heli couldn't clear her airway, saying they didn't have a suction device on board.

WTF !!! Vomiting in unconscious trauma patients isn't exactly unexpected. Why didn't they have such a device OR put her on her side (presumably on a backboard) OR used a device to keep her airway open (without suction) OR do an emergency tracheotomy? etc. etc.

I did a Google News search on Shelley Glover and terms like "vomit" and "aspirated" and could only find this one article that gave any details of her treatment.

Does anyone know any more details about this? Know why a medical heli wouldn't have such a device (other than sheer stupidity)? Apparently, she started to vomit before the heli took off. Would the ski patrol likely have had an airway device or anything else that would have helped?

Tom / PM


PS#1 - In case you can't get into the WSJ web site, here's the relevant section of their article:

"...Tracy says he was 10 feet away when Shelley went down, and he was at her side in seconds. The ski patrol responded within minutes, and a medical helicopter and ambulance were dispatched immediately. They would have Shelley at the hospital within 35 minutes of the fall. But as she was being loaded onto the helicopter, Shelley vomited because of the head trauma. She aspirated, sending her into cardiac arrest. Without a suction device on the helicopter to clear her airway, it wasn't until Shelley arrived at the hospital that doctors were able to revive her. She was without a pulse for about eight minutes, doctors told her mother..."

PS#2 -If you're a dad with a kid that skis pretty well, you probably should take a deep breath b4 you read the whole article.

[zion zig zag]

Yeah, we discussed that some here .
I'm not buying it that there was no suction on the chopper.

[sandytheskier]

Having worked in the trade for a bit, that is very weird. They might not have had the funding, left it off because they are dumb enough not to check gear after each call.
There could be other factors we don't know of, ei. allergic reaction/throat swelling.
Who kows, but they will definantly see a law suite and possibly lose their jobs.

[zion zig zag]

I don't think it would've been because they did'nt check gear. The lifeflights i've seen carry a stationary, portable and manual handheld unit, hard to forget all three.

[sandytheskier]

Flyk: aren't you in an argumentative mood?
I'll just shut up now.

[zion zig zag]

Originally posted by sandytheskier
Flyk: aren't you in an argumentative mood?
I'll just shut up now.

Yes, and sorry. I guess I am a little edgy today. I had a disturbing night in the ER yesterday.

[sandytheskier]

Ok, well now you have to tell about it!

[zion zig zag]

In a pm.

[PhysicsMan]

Thanks for the info. I would have thought that even one hint that there was no suction available in a case like this would have caused such a stink that it would have been all over the news. I guess that either means that the WSJ report is BS or else the lawyers are already swarming all over it.

The possibility of a stupid error bugs the shit out of me because I was at the hospital when a doc gave a skiing buddy a medicine that he was allergic to (and was written all over his charts). He died in 20 min. I don't especially like lawyers, but I felt *real* good helping his wife at least get a settlement which eventually put his kids through school.

Tom / PM

[Ski Monkey]

bdog is a patroller there and was there the day it happened. In the other thread he said that not only did the heli have suction, but their base clinic did as well. There had to be more complications beyond suction not reported.

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showt...threadid=11532

[Xover]

"having" it and "using" it are 2 different things now aren't they??

I have both a WFR and OEC and for the life of me cannot think of any "complications" that would cause you to not want to use even a simple hand suction device when someone is unconcious and vomiting

[bdog]

Originally posted by Ski Monkey
bdog is a patroller there and was there the day it happened. In the other thread he said that not only did the heli have suction, but their base clinic did as well. There had to be more complications beyond suction not reported.

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showt...threadid=11532

Ski Monkey, Thanks for the reference to the other thread. Sorry for the confusion .. I do not patrol at Mt. Bachelor, I work elsewhere on the mountain. I was there the day of the accident and know the patrolers who responded. I also am quite familiar with Air Life in Bend. They are very professional and the aircraft is fitted w/ advanced life support. They serve all of Central, Eastern and South Central Oregon. I fwd a copy of the article from the Wisconson paper on to them, doubt they would have seen it. Sounds to me like someone is preparing litigation. From first hand information I can tell you that all means were used to save her. An odd and unfortunate accident. But that was all it was, an accident. Again, the tragidy is assigning blame when there is none.

Though currently not on patrol I have over 10 yrs as a patroler, pro and national.

[Ski Monkey]

Originally posted by Xover
"having" it and "using" it are 2 different things now aren't they??

I have both a WFR and OEC and for the life of me cannot think of any "complications" that would cause you to not want to use even a simple hand suction device when someone is unconcious and vomiting

Indeed, there probably(no certs here) aren't any complications that would prevent you from using suction. My point was that given the training of the people involved, the speed of response, and equipment involved not using suction seems far fetched and I'm not buying it as the reason it turned out as bad as it did.

I asked the writer of that other aricle his source on the no suction and he said her parents, the coach and school headmaster told him. They were in turn told apparently by "the patrol and medical staff." It's a long line of telephone and given the level of emotion evolved it makes me wonder.

edit: sorry bdog, mistake noted.

[bdog]

I doubt that Air Life would state that they failed to or did not have the basic tools to maintain an airway. I know Mt. Bachelor patrol would not release such a statement. What US Skiing or the headmistress at Burke Mountain Academy said I would not know. At the time of the accident and for the next few days until her parents arrived and the decision was made to take her off life support all press release's were via US Skiing. She was unconscious and unresponsive when patrol arrived which was within minutes of the fall. Patrol were stationed less than a minute from the location. She never regained consciousness. Her family should take the time to greive. Utilize counselors, friends and family. Attorneys and finger pointing have no place here.

[Hicks]

A sad parallel to the incident 2 years ago when a top world cup racer died of basically the same injury when colliding face on with a service guy, at high speed though.

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