AED saves teen’s life on boat ramp
By Jim Stanford on August 3, 2010
River rangers working with rafting guides saved the life of a 16-year-old who suffered a heart attack Friday in the Snake River Canyon.
The teen was part of a Boy Scout rafting trip from Rexburg, Idaho, according to Dave Cernicek, Bridger-Teton National Forest river manager. The group stopped at a jumping rock above Cottonwood Rapid when the boy complained of chest pain and collapsed. He had no pulse or breathing, and trip leaders began CPR while transporting him to the Sheep Gulch takeout about 1.5 miles downstream.
When the group reached the boat ramp, river rangers responded, assisted by guides from Dave Hansen Whitewater. The rangers used an automatic external defibrillator, or AED, to shock the teen’s heart and revived him. An ambulance arrived quickly from Alpine and transported the teen to the hospital.
The AED was paid for by the Snake River Fund, a nonprofit group dedicated to stewardship of the river. Since 2001, the fund, led by board member Ron Novak, has paid for AEDs to be installed at the West Table Creek and Sheep Gulch boat ramps (the main canyon access points), as well as below Three Oar Deal and Lunch Counter Rapid, two of the biggest hazards.
Too bad there are none at Moose, where elderly passengers frequently take float trips in Grand Teton National Park.
The AEDs were purchased at Cernicek’s suggestion, which is why he was named River Manager of the Year this spring by the River Management Society.
