On July 5th 2024, Guy and myself (Jack) were leading a beginner whitewater kayaking class down the upper wenatchee river. It was a hot day but the water temperature was still roughly 60 degrees. About halfway down the section, we heard people yelling at us that some guy was "in a bad way" and he had just been pulled out of the river. We arrived on scene on the left bank where Tom (victim) was laying on his back without a PFD in the shallows surrounded by a few people. He was not moving and his skin was blue. Guy (WFR) was slightly ahead of Jack (EMT) and approached Tom and saw that he was taking extremely labored breaths and wheezing (around 40 respirations/min about 5 mins after we got him). To get him out of the water, we put him on a nearby paddleboard and put him in the recovery position.
Tom was responsive to verbal stimuli but could not put words together. We were informed that someone there was on the phone with 911 although coverage was spotty and the calls kept dropping. Guy used Caltopo to find our exact coordiantes and communicated that to 911. Tom was coughing water/vomiting and we continued to monitor his condition while keeping his airway open. We also placed a towel and someone's extra layer on top of him to keep him warm. Members of his party informed us that he was asthmatic and that his inhaler had flushed downstream with his kayak. They also told us that they did not see what happened to him and that they were ahead of him, but that he was holding his PFD in his hand when they pulled him ashore. After asking everyone at the scene no inhaler was present. Our kayak students then arrived at the scene (after previously eddying out above) and one of the students who was a certified EMT came over to Tom and helped Jack provide care.
We started looking for an evacuation route and began to hear sirens going by, and we concluded that the only realistic evac route to a road was across the river and about 100 yards upstream. Guy ferried across the river to try to flag down EMS and tracked down the people that lived nearby to call 911 and give them their address and waited for EMS to arrive. While this was happening, Tom began to show signs of improvement - color was returning to his skin and he was able to tell us his name (AOx1). Tom continued to improve and could tell us his name, where he was, the relative time of day, and roughly what happened (AOx4) and color had almost returned aside from his feet still being blue. The ambulance arrived on the other side of the river and Guy tried to convince them to paddle across the river to Tom.
At the scene, we considered moving Tom across the river using a paddleboard, but determined that it would be an unnecessary risk as the current was relatively strong and it was at least waist deep, and Tom was improving. After learning of situation, one of the EMS personnel left to go get a jet boat and take it down from the lake and they believed it would be more convenient to access the scene. We were then informed that it would take 20 minutes for the jet boat to arrive. Guy eventually convinced one of the paramedics to paddle across the river and begin treatment. The paramedic arrived on scene and took vitals and determined that Tom was not coherent enough to take his inhaler and he could only legally assist. After some time the jet boat arrived and we moved Tom into it and they drove across the river and upstream and got him into the ambulance. Tom's group, another group that was assisting, and our class then continued downstream. His boat and his dry bag were recovered by his party downstream.
Here are our takeways from the event. Since the accident was not witnessed it is not clear exactly the cause. Likely factors include that Tom was not wearing his PFD, there was significant wood on the river, group separation, inexperience, cold water (with no cold water gear), and medical condition. Some equipment that would have helped on our end were the waterproof radios that we have been testing for kayak instruction that were not present that day due to small group size. Guy and I were across the wide river from each other trying to communicate and had difficulty understanding each other. It might also be worth carrying an emergency blanket to help keep someone warm in similar situations. This was also a reminder for us to keep practicing our medical skills and not get rusty as you never know when you might need them. We were reminded that even in seemingly mellow rivers accidents can still happen and you need to be ready to respond when you might least expect it.
Tom was very lucky that day to make it out alive and we hope that this can be a wake up call for other people floating rivers even now that water levels are lower and the weather is warm.
