RE: [Paddlewise] Incapacitated partner

  It's an interesting issue, one that I have several points of view on.
When functioning as the trip "leader" of a group that consists of
friends and strangers I like to get everyone together briefly to talk
about the trip route, group cohesiveness, etc - one of the etc's is
usually just thrown out as, "does anyone have any health issues that we
should know about in case something happens while we're out, diabetes,
bee-sting allergies, etc?".  I feel that possibly offending someone is
much better than losing them.  Maybe this is harsh, but then again - so
is dying.  I think that posing the question to the group rather than to
an individual lessens the possibility of "offense".
  As a group "participant" I think it is in my best interest to make
sure that any medical conditions are known to the group - ie. I have the
greatest interest in my health and the continuation of the same so all I
can do is help my case if someone else responsible is aware of any
issues.  I had problems with seizures related to a motorcycle accident
for about ten years and learned very quickly how to explain the issue
and how to handle it, to any new group or individuals that I was doing
things with.
 The toughest case is probably the situation that you've described here,
Jack.  A group of paddling buddies who all know each other and paddle
together informally and a new paddler joining in for the first time.
It's very difficult to approach this without putting the person "on the
spot".  Don't have a good solution, and for me this situation is
probably the most common scenario.

Dave Seng
Juneau, Alaska

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	JCMARTIN43_at_aol.com [SMTP:JCMARTIN43_at_aol.com]
> Sent:	Monday, June 15, 1998 10:28 AM
> To:	PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net
> Subject:	Re: [Paddlewise] Incapacitated partner
> 
> This brings up an interesting sidebar issue: it's really important
> when
> paddling with people we don't know well to have a pretty clear idea of
> any
> potential medical problems that other paddlers could encounter.  (I
> was
> paddling a "double-cross" of the Chesapeake Bay with some friends and
> another
> paddler asked to join in --- and, during our conversation, the subject
> turned
> to heart conditions --- which he had.  Now, this isn't the middle of
> the Gulf
> of Mexico or anything, but we're still about two miles from nearest
> landfall,
> and any medical emergency certainly has the potential for turning into
> one of
> Clyde's "worst case" scenarios.  So, the question is, how does one ask
> --- in
> a politically correct manner, of course --- a paddler who wants to
> join a
> group if he/she has any medical conditions which could be encountered
> during a
> trip?
> 
> Ideas?
> 
> Jack "Joq" Martin
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