Drowning on the Mulberry

[muskrat]

I'll also add that, from TBC's description he gave me, it sounded like this was a case of 'sensory confliction', when a witness sees the situation but doesn't comprehend it's magnitude because there is no sound (and possibly in this case, no sign of struggle) to trigger their brain and alert them that something is wrong.

I saved a person drowning once and after it was over I had to analyze why I was so confused at first, the situation took on a weird surreal kind of feeling and it took me a long time to break down the process and figure out why I wasn't sure what was going in the first few moments.

thoughts and prayers for the family



edit: I just made that sensory confiliction term up, but it sure does fit the bill

[SteveGabbard]

Here is a good article on what Muskrat is referring to. I think it has been posted here before:

http://gcaptain.com/drowning/?10981" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TBC]

The news said he was wearing a "like jacket". I just can't imagine this was true unless he was snagged by a bottom root ball?

He did not have a PDF on unless he carried two with him on his Sit-On-Top Kayak. My friend actually recovered the Kayak after the incident. He said the PDF was still in the boat.

[Karla]

We were on the Mulberry Saturday and witnessed a guy in a sit on top not having a good day. He fell over in his kayak at least 3 times in the area we were paddling. Makes some of us wonder if this could have been the guy they found. He just didn't appear to be in good shape, maybe drunk, not sure and flipped his kayak 3 times that we observed then last saw him paddling off down river from us. When we took out at Byrds and passed Redding on our way back to Turner Bend, we saw ambulance and other rescue vehicles we had to pull over for on the road. The guy I am mentioning had paddle that had broken pieces off both blades and could not see how he could even paddle with them.

So sad.

Karla

[nike54_la]

Referring back to the "sensory" commit. You are correct. Many untrained people would not recognize a drowning victim. I'm a LG trainer, and it's something we try to really impress on the kids we train - drowning doesn't look like what you see on TV. There is hardly ever violent splashing about, and you won't hear an active drowning victim say a word. They are in survival mode, the body takes over only trying to preserve life. It can happen within seconds. And, I can imagine if it were on the river (not a nice, clear pool) it would be harder to recognize.

[panicman]

I wonder if that was the guy we saw go by us at that rapid everyone always stops for lunch where the house overlooks the rapid that splits in 2 channels. We saw a guy probably about the age of the victim paddling a red or orange sit on top flip there without a life jacket on. He looked kind of tired after the swim which could have been a contributing factor. Hope it was not him.

[tomOzarkVideo]

Here is a good article on what Muskrat is referring to. I think it has been posted here before:

http://gcaptain.com/drowning/?10981" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You may have saved the life of one of mine by posting this.. It's also clear that we (wife and I) need better SWRT!! We had a blast out there on Sunday but, this is a "wake up call" for me.

My heart goes out to the family.

Stay safe out there..

[jkowalew]

http://www.5newsonline.com/news/kfsm-ka ... 7484.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Sasquatch]

We where at Reding Sunday afternoon. Not paddling, but to release the ashes of our beloved black lab Maddie. This was the first place she went swimming, so it only seemed fitting. We did not even know about the drowning until I read about it that night in the paper. They found the body very close in the area just a few hours after we where there.

I once read an article that the ACA put out called "Silent Drowning" Your exactly right about that.