Wilderness Medicine Training Center International
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, History, & Educational Strategies
    • Staff Profiles
  • Course Descriptions
  • Course Schedule
  • Recertification
  • Sponsor a Course
  • Store
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Links
    • Candidate Login
    • Instructor Login
  • Certification Database
  • Additional Services
    • Affiliate Program
    • Consulting
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • WMTC Japan
  • WMTC Colombia
  • COVID-19

Blog

Wilderness Medicine Case Study 53

9/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
You are on a late summer rafting trip in the Grand Canyon when one of your rafts pins at Bedrock rapid spilling two passengers, John and Tory, into the river leaving the guide and one passenger struggling to stay in the raft. John, is caught in the rigging and held underwater by the current. It takes the guide a few minutes to fully grasp the situation and cut him free. Once free, John flushes to the right side of the rocky island face down and unresponsive in the water. Your gear raft picks him up below the island while others rush to stabilize the pinned raft and help those on board to shore. Reaching John, you quickly determine he is not breathing and has no pulse. You initiate CPR as your two passengers struggle to get the heavy raft to shore. After what feels like hours but must have been only minutes, John spontaneously regains both his pulse and breathing. By this time you are safely tied to the lower end of the island. Roughly fifteen minutes later John is awake with no memory of the event. Your physical exam reveals bruising and minimal swelling around his right ankle where he was caught in the rigging. His right ankle is tender with minimal impairment; John believes he can stand and walk on it. The rest of his exam is unremarkable and John's helmet is free of scratches; it appears that he did not hit his head during the event. Some 30 minutes after the event, John's pulse is 68 and regular; his respiratory rate is 16 and easy, his skin is normal, and he is fully awake and alert. His focused spine exam is also unremarkable with no spine pain, no spine tenderness, no shooting or electric-like pain, and normal motor and sensory exams.

What do you think is wrong and what can you do about it?  Click here to find out.

Don't know where to begin or what to do? Take one of our wilderness medicine courses. Guides and expedition leaders should consider taking our Wilderness First Responder course.

Looking for a reliable field reference? Consider consider purchasing one of our print or digital handbooks; our digital handbook apps are available in English, Spanish, and Japanese. Updates are free for life. A digital SOAP note app is also available.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    1st Aid Kits
    Commentary
    Disaster Medicine
    Environmental Problems
    Epinephrine Auto Injector Laws
    Medical Problems
    Outdoor Program Mgt
    Pain Management
    Risk Mgt Case Studies
    Traumatic Problems
    WildMed Case Studies

    ​Our public YouTube channel has educational and reference videos for many of the skills taught during our courses. Check it out!
 Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, History, & Educational Strategies
    • Staff Profiles
  • Course Descriptions
  • Course Schedule
  • Recertification
  • Sponsor a Course
  • Store
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Links
    • Candidate Login
    • Instructor Login
  • Certification Database
  • Additional Services
    • Affiliate Program
    • Consulting
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • WMTC Japan
  • WMTC Colombia
  • COVID-19