By the time I scrambled back up to the pond and saw him the back of
his head was covered with blood. I went back to the boat to get our
(extensive) first aid kit and informed the rest of the group. About
this time Arizona Raft Adventures (AZRA) motor rig pulled up and
offered assistance. Tom, the guide was a terrific calming influence
on me. He asked me three or four specific questions before he even
got off his boat. By then we had brought Kurt down to river level. We
were watching for signs of concussion, etc. At this point we were
thinking of evacuation and AZRA offered to motor Kurt & Judy
downstream to Blacktail Canyon which would make for a good helicopter
landing spot. As they headed off it was a pretty sober group that
pulled together to float down to Blacktail.
By the time we arrived Judy & Tom had a "surgical suite" all set up
on a ledge in the shade of Blacktail Canyon. Judy had a sterile
suture kit and put in six stitches. Ice from AZRA was used to cool
down the neck injuries. Judy and I sat down with Kurt and recommended
that we fly him out. He disagreed saying he would feel better in the
morning. It's moments like this that are true "trip leader dilemmas".
What would you do as trip leader if you and your trip medical person
(in this case a doctor) thought it was time to evacuate and the
potential "evacuee" disagreed? The better you know someone the more
complicated it can become. Kurt has been on every Grand trip I have
ever made. Will your decisions as trip leader have lasting negative
influences when you return to "real life"? Way back when setting up
the trip I had printed out how decisions would be made and how most
decisions would be consensus but some decisions would be made by me
for safety reasons. Should trip leaders demand that people sign a
"disclosure statement"?
While all these things were going through my head, Judy and I decided
we could postpone making a final decision until later that night.
Blacktail Canyon was a great place for the group to camp, hang out,
take photos, nap, etc. One drawback to hanging out here was that it
was 105 degrees in the sun making it too hot to unload the boats
until 7:30 PM.
By dinner time Kurt's physical signs were stable and he was out of
immediate danger. His head did not hurt as much as his neck and hip.
He decided that he would be unable to row and would be uncomfortable
riding on the boat. Judy and I agreed with him. One of our group got
out his Pilot's radio and began radioing for help. In this section of
the river there are no sightseeing flights. Our best shot would be a
commercial airliner monitoring the emergency frequency. After several
tries over the next hour contact was made with US Air which relayed
the message to the Park Service for a morning evacuation.
The next morning we heard the helicopter shortly after 8 AM. Kurt got
to shoot off an emergency flare for an early July 4 celebration. After
an evaluation by the EMT Kurt boarded the helicopter and flew out. He
spent some time in the clinic on the South Rim for X rays and a
checkup. He was able to fly out later that day and return to Salt
Lake City where he recovered and was able to return to work in a
week. He seems to be recovering well at least well enough to plan a
birthday celebration for his birthday which happens to be today the
23rd.
Another note for those of you with trip evacuations. The cost for
Kurt's evacuation was around $2000. They expect payment at time of
services and yes they do take VISA. In the fine print in my permit it
says that the trip leader would be responsible for these costs if Kurt
couldn't or wouldn't pay. I had informed everyone to check their
personal medical insurance to make sure emergencies were covered. One
person on our trip bought evacuation/medical insurance for around $75
for this type of situation. It sure beats the NPS collecting from me
and then me collecting from the evacuee.
This message is intended for this list serve only. I feel like this
has been a windy, vulnerable message but it is helping me to
continue to work through all the emotions, thoughts, etc. that can
come up on a trip. I know I would want other trip leaders to share
their stories. Hopefully others out there will share reactions and
wisdom in future posts to the list here.
Thanks for "listening"
Bruce Schroeder, Salt Lake City
PS. The rest of trip went without incident, partly because our safety
director "restricted " all hiking and climbing the rest of the trip.
"Boatmen" were not allowed to leave their boats. (grin)
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