Kansas professor dead - Albuquerque, New Mexico

[DandyDon]

There is no hospital in Santa Rosa.

There is. It does list 24 hour Emergency Room. Guadalupe County Hospital

There are no lifeguards at the Blue Hole!

Yes, on weekends when swimming and cliff jumping is popular.

The nearest serious trauma center is in Santa Fe over 100 miles away.

Albuquerque is only 10 miles further. I suppose medical helicopters are active in the area.

 

[CoralSeaMan]

I stand corrected on the hospital. I have never seen a life guard but I am usually there in cold months.

 

[DandyDon]

I stand corrected on the hospital.

I think it used to be at the corner of Lake Drive and Blue Hole Road, but it seems to have been moved west to the other side of the river. Now on Camino De Vida. Google maps says it's a seven minute drive. I suppose that's where ambulances go with local emergencies. I don't know if the helicopters pick up there or at the airport.

I have never seen a life guard but I am usually there in cold months.

No, I don't think they have any then. Just in warm months when the kids like to jump from the cliff. I always worried about surfacing to a jumper. I suppose the life guard warns jumpers not to jump on bubbles, but I always tried to ascend on the vertical line.

 

[boulderjohn]

The hospital in Santa Rosa is a pretty new facility, only a few years old. I have happily never been inside, but I assume it must have the level of modernity expected in such a new facility. I once had to have treatment in the old hospital, located a couple hundred yards from the Blue Hole, and I thought the quality of care I received there was just fine.

 

[KevinNM]

There is no trauma center close to Santa Rosa. The nearest trauma centers are, according to the most recent DoH data, is Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales, south of Clovis (level IV), then Cristus St Vincent in Santa Fe (Level III), then UNMH in Abququerque (level I).

https://nmhealth.org/publication/view/general/1988/

I have no idea if there is a chamber that treats divers in New Mexico. I know there is no chamber at UNMH and St Vincents says non-emergency only. Presbyterian also says non-emergency only.

 

[Oldbear]

As I read the different comments...the “internet” experts on Santa Rosa are quite apparant.

 

[coffii_howz]

Zoran was my friend and I was his dive buddy there that day. One of his children directed me to this post. Zoran was a very, very experienced diver. A technical cave diver and one that had been doing it since the early 60s in Florida. He taught art history and photography at Fort Hays State university and never got around to retiring. He was also an accomplished painter and photographer. Zoran was my fencing coach, teacher and mentor. He did a lot considering he was a refugee from post WWII Yugoslavia and came here with nothing.

Some of his work is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ry9nTbyVNkiBY4ft9
Artwork by Zoran Stevanov - FHSU

The blue hole is about the closest clear water we have to us in KS other than the Ozarks. Zoran had been diving in Santa Rosa for decades. He'd take his sons and later me there.

I thought it would be good to clear things up that maybe you'd like to know.

Some in this thread heard me talking about my regulator. I was borrowing his and didn't realize he had a flow control. We adjusted and everything was fine. Some dive professionals inspected his gear and confirmed all of our gear was in working order.

Two of the doctors I talked to said cardiac event and the one in Albuquerque said heart attack. We are still waiting on the medical examiners official death certificate. They talked with me quite a bit and were focused on our gear and how long we were down. He was not an athlete anymore and had had heath problems with his intestine in the past, but no heart trouble. He did take xerelto for a blood clot for a while and i think was on it still. He never gave me any inclination that his health was a problem recently or at any time on our trip down.

Everyone, was awesome and did the maximum that they could to save him. Thank you to the first responders and rescue divers that were there. Thank you to flightofthepenguins for being there with me. As well as any diver that stayed with me and especially the sheriff and EMS. Santa Rosa staff were awesome also. Albuquerque nurses and doctors were kind and helpful.

It was the worst day of my life bar none. I have received an immense support from those around me. Especially my wife who flew to Albuquerque to be with me.

He and I at the Blue Hole, Labor Day 2013

Zoran at the Blue Hole

• coffii_howz
• Sep 24, 2018

Zoran Stevanov and Matthew Carver at the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa NM 2013

 

[boulderjohn]

Thank you so much for this report. It must have been a truly horrible day for you, one that few of us can truly understand.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Thank you for posting this. All too often we hear of the accident, but no follow up. Please accept my most sincere condolences on the loss of your friend. I think the majority on this board will agree that if we have to go....let's go while we are doing something we love.

We are about 6 hours from Blue Hole, I will be back. Between the visability and cool water, it was as good as it gets without driving to Bonne Terre. I hope to see you at the hole at some point, Dinner at The Comet is on me!

Sorry for your loss,
Jay

 

[coffii_howz]

Thank you both. I'm not sure when or if I'll be back to the blue hole, but I'm sure he wouldn't want me to give up diving.

One more Zoran link, him talking about scuba photography.