Diver Death Octopus Hole Hood Canal Washington

[Scottri]

Does anyone know the name of the diver that passed away Sunday August 27th at Octopus Hole? I was involved in the rescue attempt but in the confusion I did not get his full name. He surfaced in distress with his buddy. One of our DM's and another diver towed the diver to the beach and got him out his gear and we started CPR and rescue breaths but the diver was not breathing and he had no pulse. We peformed CPR until the EMT's arrived and continued for 30 minutes until the lead EMT called it. We were never able to get a pulse and the AED did not advise shocking him. The EMT's were able to establish an airway but I'm not sure it did much good at that point.

I don't know the the details of the dive other than he was a student doing a dry suit class when he had some sort of distress under water. The EMT speculated that he had a heart attack during the dive but that will have to be determined by the Medical Examiner. There was no blood in the foam from his airway so I don't think it was an embolism. He did swallow salt water but I can't really say how much. It was a very sad thing to be a part of and I just pray for his friends and family.

He was either from Vancouver Washington or Portland Oregon, I'm not sure which. Some of the people in his party were from Portland and some were from Washington.

 

[dlent]

What's an AED?

 

[Henryville]

What's an AED?

Automated External Defibrillator. Increasingly standard device for first aid to victims in need of CPR.

 

[Sasquatch]

First I've heard. That's tragic. I was scheduled to dive there that day but went to Crescent Lake instead.

Condolences from me to the friends and family.

 

[NorthAtlantic2005]

What's an AED?

Its an automated external defibrillator (AED). A more user friendly version of the paddles seen on hospital shows. You place the two electrode patches on the chest and side of the victim and the aed prompts you through voice commands on how to do the rest. Lots of airports have them and towns get huge breaks on insurance if they have them in a certain percentage of their buildings and vehicles.

 

[rjack321]

Foam at the mouth, regardless of blood, suggests an embolism. Which (at least locally in the PNW) seems to be an increasingly common cause of death, I know of several in the past year.

Always a shame, but all the more so since they are so preventable.

 

[DiveMaven]

The diver was Brad Horner. He was a Corrections Officer with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in Portland, OR.

Thank you for all of your efforts to rescue and revive him.

 

[gkj2077]

Sorry to interject a technical question into this solemn thread. I know from classes that the AED has to detect a "shockable" rhythm because some tachychardia should not be shocked. What I didn't realize was that the AED would not shock if there was no pulse at all. Is that correct? Any heart docs out there that can elaborate?

 

[JohnN]

Sorry to interject a technical question into this solemn thread. I know from classes that the AED has to detect a "shockable" rhythm because some tachychardia should not be shocked. What I didn't realize was that the AED would not shock if there was no pulse at all. Is that correct? Any heart docs out there that can elaborate?

You realize this is almost a 10 yo thread? No pulse, no AED shock. The units that paramedics use may have manual overrides, but not the ones you see hanging on the wall

 

[Herb-alaska]

Foam at the mouth, regardless of blood, suggests an embolism. Which (at least locally in the PNW) seems to be an increasingly common cause of death, I know of several in the past year.

Always a shame, but all the more so since they are so preventable.

Foam at the mouth is very common in CPR causes even those that are as dry as a bone. The presence of foam would not make my say embolism