Things I learned - Race report PC HIM

[salsabike]

For all we know, he DID check with his doc beforehand. Docs can't predict events like this, either. Our best efforts still don't provide any guarantees...and that's how life is. We make the best efforts, and then we go on, and...who knows what will happen? No one I've met yet, anyway.

[Wahine]

Plus 1 what V. and Salsa said.

The course is a large square course, so yeah, even if he was at the farthest point from shore it would have been about 700 m.

Roadie gal, thanks for explaining that. It seems to make sense with what I heard and saw. Would the same thing happen if he had swimming induced pulmonary edema?

From what I understand he was still conscious but in distress when they pulled him onto the jet ski, and was unconscious by the time they got him to shore. Who knows what happened.

[Zen]

CPR is old stuff. There are no more chest compressions, just rescue breathing.

[teigyr]

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/22704044.html

I guess we can't really speculate as to how it should've been unless we were there.

Anyway, very sad.

I think this is a better article

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/tex...thlete30m.html

Seems to be he was in shape and knew what he was doing.

[KSH]

Hey Wahine, sounds like a tough race, but yes we do learn from the hard days.

Still, even on your bad day, you beat my HIM time by like 2 hours. So from my turtle vantage point, you had an amazing race!

[colby]

What a day... a roasty, toasty day on top of it.

Great job, Wahine - a learning experience is STILL a victory, and you still could have kicked many of our butts.

Not getting a sunburn... not ending up dehydrated and miserable... MAJOR win.

[jesvetmed]

Would the same thing happen if he had swimming induced pulmonary edema?

Pulmonary edema essentially causes drowning if bad enough -- no matter what the cause. So, yes, it would likely be asystole also.

An article I read recently says they wonder how many people that "drown" actually have had pulmonary edema, and you cannot tell post-death what caused all the fluid in the lungs. Just that they drowned. Can anyone else confirm that? I'm not really a specialist in autopsy stuff! That's why we send stuff to the lab!

All in all, this is quite sad, but likely nothing to do with the race organization. Other than having oxygen mask and diuretics on the kayaks, it sounds like this was unpreventable on their part. Although I didn't get to read the newspaper articles (not that they are usually all that informative) -- I was too late, and the NEW news has replaced it.

Jes

[Pika]

Wahine:
Sorry to hear about your tummy troubles- interesting article you found on DGE though!
I guess it is the quest for the perfect race that keeps everyone coming back! I 'm with KSH - even your bad races I find phenomenal- I understand why you don't (PBs are ALWAYS nicer) but there's always next time

I feel badly about that poor swimmer- his family must be suffering- it would be a terrible shock.

[roadie gal]

CPR is old stuff. There are no more chest compressions, just rescue breathing.

Nope, just the opposite. Just compressions, no rescue breathing.

[tjf9]

Great job Wahine! It was a scorcher out there. Great lessons for me from your race as well, since I'm only a 2x triathlete.

I actually participated in the olympic tri. The ambulance was not on site, because I saw the ambulance rushing up the mtn, lights and sirens going (I was ~5 miles away from the swim at this point). Sounds like there was nothing to be done, either way, but I agree that with that distance to a hospital, at least an AED should be on site.

A similar event happened at a bike race here in Portland about 3 weeks back. Guy had a heart attack on the course, and the organizers had no paramedics or AED. Fortunately he was close into the city, so an ambulance could get there quick and he survived.

I think things like this should be a wake up call to all race organizers - be prepared!