Snorkeling death in key largo

[deeper thoughts]

March 30, 2006

Snorkeling death off of Key Largo

Key Largo - Deputies and detectives responded this morning to John Pennekamp State Park to reports of a snorkeling death in the waters off of Key Largo.

According to witnesses, the 50 year old South Carolina woman was on a snorkeling trip on board the vessel El Capitan when she began having trouble in the water. The Captain said she was having trouble breathing and he and his first mate assisted her on board and began administering oxygen. They got the other snorkelers on board and began heading back to shore, administering Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation on the way.

Paramedics met them at the dock and continued treatment, but could not revive the victim who was pronounced dead dockside at 10:45 a.m. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of her death. Detective Mark Coleman is attempting to contact her next of kin to notify them of her death.

I was listening to the dive reports and the seas were running 4-6ft.
Prayers to the family.

 

[Divmstr223]

March 30, 2006

Snorkeling death off of Key Largo

Key Largo - Deputies and detectives responded this morning to John Pennekamp State Park to reports of a snorkeling death in the waters off of Key Largo.

According to witnesses, the 50 year old South Carolina woman was on a snorkeling trip on board the vessel El Capitan when she began having trouble in the water. The Captain said she was having trouble breathing and he and his first mate assisted her on board and began administering oxygen. They got the other snorkelers on board and began heading back to shore, administering Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation on the way.

Paramedics met them at the dock and continued treatment, but could not revive the victim who was pronounced dead dockside at 10:45 a.m. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of her death. Detective Mark Coleman is attempting to contact her next of kin to notify them of her death.

I was listening to the dive reports and the seas were running 4-6ft.
Prayers to the family.

So she stopped breathing while on the boat? They would only administor CPR if she had no pulse and obviously wasn't breathing. If they gave her Oxygen, then she was breathing for awhile at least..... The write up is kind of vague, she was breathing Oxygen then they administered CPR on the way back...what happend in the middle? Do you have the link to the article or did you copy and paste it word for word?

 

[String]

If they gave her Oxygen, then she was breathing for awhile at least..... The write up is kind of vague, she was breathing Oxygen then they administered CPR on the way back...what happend in the middle? Do you have the link to the article or didyou copy and paste it word for word?

Not really, oxygen via constant flow is used for enriched artificial ventillation on a non breathing casualty. It just increases the efficiency/amount of oxygen put into the victim with rescue breathing from the 16% or so normally to 50% plus with some masks, 80% plus with bag masks.

Enriched AV and CPR is a fairly common protocol, especially 2 person CPR.

That said, i agree the article is rather lacking in detail. She could have been breathing then stopped or may have been pulled from the water not breathing and with/without a pulse. Impossible to say.

 

[deeper thoughts]

word for word monroe county sheriff web site

 

[Divmstr223]

I guess I wasn't aware of that process String...thanks for clueing me in...=) Also in the article it referred to the Captain saying she had trouble breathing...so I guess she was alive at least for a few moments after coming on board. Very strange, I wonder what happend to the poor gal? =(

 

[Desert_Diver]

So she stopped breathing while on the boat? They would only administor CPR if she had no pulse and obviously wasn't breathing. If they gave her Oxygen, then she was breathing for awhile at least..... The write up is kind of vague, she was breathing Oxygen then they administered CPR on the way back...what happend in the middle? Do you have the link to the article or did you copy and paste it word for word?

Protocols vary by state, but locally, EMTs will start breathing assistance if the rate falls below a critical minimum. They won't start full blown CPR until they fail to detect a pulse. Because of the danger of communcable disease, they usually will provide the respiratory assistance using a bag valve mask and 100 per cent oxygen.

 

[Divmstr223]

Protocols vary by state, but locally, EMTs will start breathing assistance if the rate falls below a critical minimum. They won't start full blown CPR until they fail to detect a pulse. Because of the danger of communcable disease, they usually will provide the respiratory assistance using a bag valve mask and 100 per cent oxygen.

Right on...I guess I pretty much thought this was the way it went.. I was just under the assumption that if there was no pulse, CPR would be administered, not Oxygen....I guess I didn't see the point in giving Oxygen to a victim who wasn't breathing ya know? But if there is a reason for it, then I am much the wiser now....:14:

 

[dandrian]

Right on...I guess I pretty much thought this was the way it went.. I was just under the assumption that if there was no pulse, CPR would be administered, not Oxygen....I guess I didn't see the point in giving Oxygen to a victim who wasn't breathing ya know? But if there is a reason for it, then I am much the wiser now....:14:

If you doing mouth to mouth (using a pocket mask or other barrier device of course) you are only delivering 17-18% oxygen to the victim. If you are using a BVM (bag valve mask) without oxygen hooked up you are delivering 21% oxygen to the victim. By hooking either up to an O2 line you increase the O2 % to almost 100% which is good for the victim. The lungs and body work differently when O2 is being forced into them by mouth to mouth than if you inhale yourself. The higher O2 % is important for people (and we can assume for this lady) in cardiac arrest.

David

 

[String]

I guess I didn't see the point in giving Oxygen to a victim who wasn't breathing ya know? But if there is a reason for it, then I am much the wiser now....:14:

A bit of a simplification but think of CPR as pumping blood around. That bloods needs oxygen in it to get to the tissues therefore oxygen and breaths are administered to get the oxygen into the blood then the CPR helps pumps that oxygen-containing blood around the body to where its needed.

 

[DandyDon]

I snorkeled at Key Largo a few times before I finally got into scuba, and in many ways it can be more strenuous than scuba - but with no medical check-ups or training required. I'm surprised there are not more heart attack losses than there are there - which is what this sounds like. There are other possibilities, of course. Snorkelers are required to wear vests, and the crews demonstrate them, but one might have difficulties inflating nonetheless - say, leaving the twist valve closed.