Re: [Paddlewise] re briefing guide/Cayo Costa (long)

Sandy, that's an amazing story.  I can't get over how controlled and
together - how dignified, really, your whole group was.  (I couldn't help
feeling sad for the sleepyheads, for whom Ken's death would have an
aspect of unreality, unlike the experience the rest of you had).

And I very much agree with you - that's the way to go.  If we had our
druthers, I bet we'd all choose Ken's way out.

Joan

On Mon, 27 Dec 1999 11:40:37 EST Sandykayak_at_aol.com writes:
> In a message dated 12/26/1999 6:44:25 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
> nicholas.gill_at_adfa.edu.au writes:
> 
> <<  We are going to put 'useful info' on the back. We have a list of 
> ideas 
> (eg weather forecast ph. numbers). But if you were a trip leader 
> what would 
> you like to see on this back side? Anything you think you might need 
> to jog 
> your memory about tides, navigation, weather or whatever, or 
> something you 
> might need to know in an emergency, or any last minute bit of info 
> you might 
> need to get/call for. >>
> 
> Definitely include emergency contact numbers.  I kinda didn't have 
> the 
> stamina left to give you guys the Thanksgiving on Cayo Costa Trip 
> report.  
> One of our companions had a heart attack and did not survive.
> 
> I wrote a fairly detailed email to Sierra Club members and then a 
> toned down 
> article for the newsletter - but it did not make the deadline, so it 
> remains 
> unpublished.  Please do not forward to anyone without my permission.
> 
> CAYO COSTA TRAGEDY
> After a delightful turkey dinner and three days on the island, Ken 
> Woodside 
> suffered a heart attack at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.  He did not 
> survive.  
> Fortunately, he had been talking to Mary Ann Marks who is a nurse 
> and Carmen 
> Cleary (also a nurse) was close by.  Carmen came over to my tent to 
> ask if I 
> had a cellphone.
> 
> He had no pulse.  While they performed CPR, I called 9-1-1.  
> Meanwhile 
> Theresa Williams (who had been telling us about the wilderness first 
> aid 
> course she had taken) also stepped in.  Thus they were able to 
> perform CPR 
> while alternating so they could take turn resting.  I was fetching a 
> pillow 
> and then water while remaining on hold with the emergency dispatcher.
> 
> Slowly others woke up and we sent people out to the beginning of the 
> trail 
> and the beach with flashlights.  The helicopter arrived in 30 
> minutes 
> (considering the distance and all the complications.)  We were at 
> the far end 
> of the camping area in a state park.  Cayo Costa is a barrier island 
> off Fort 
> Myers on the west coast of Fla.
> 
> Ken was in his early sixties and had suffered a heart attack about 
> two years 
> ago.  He also had had surgery for cancer on his leg, and a marrow 
> transplant 
> because of leukemia.  His most recent health problem: they had 
> discovered a 
> spot on his lung and he knew he was in for more surgery and ??? next 
> year.
> 
> The paramedics worked on him for another 15 minutes.  He was 
> transported by 
> helicopter to the morgue at Fort Myers.  
> 
> He collapsed and died (apparently) instantly, without pain, and 
> among his 
> many friends doing what he loved to do...in a beautiful place.  An 
> beautiful 
> and awe-inspiring moment was when the chopper circled over our 
> campfire and 
> we were able to wave goodbye -- some shone their flashlights in the 
> air.  It 
> was as if he was being taken to heaven.
> 
> I think we all said that this is how we would like to "go" when our 
> time 
> comes.  We got back into our tents at 4:00 a.m.  Some of us managed 
> to catch 
> a little sleep before waking up at 6:30 a.m. to pack up and return 
> home...saddened, but with the knowledge that everything possible was 
> done.
> 
> EVERYONE was simply wonderful.  Everything was done in an organized 
> manner.  
> Someone stoked the campfire, someone else put water to boil for 
> coffee, and 
> the whole thing was very dignified.  No one interfered with the 
> basic rescue 
> effort and it was a great feeling to be among such strong and 
> confident 
> people.
> 
> As is usual with human nature, there were humorous moments.  One of 
> them was 
> that one member of the group slept through it all and only found out 
> in the 
> morning.  Actually, there were two of them, but one was woken up 
> toward the 
> end.  Sound sleepers!
> 
> Please understand that this is just the basic story.  There are many 
> little 
> moments and memories of things he/we did and said over the weekend 
> that are 
> part of a Sierra trip and that have united all the participants in a 
> special 
> way.  I hope we will be able to go back next year and perform a 
> special 
> memorial service.
> 
> Sandy Kramer
> 
> THIS IS THE AS YET UNPUBLISHED ARTICLE I WROTE FOR OUR NEWSLETTER:
> 
> THANKSGIVING ON CAYO COSTA
> 
> There was that dreaded question again, "How was your Thanksgiving?" 
> or "How 
> was your camping trip?"  It's really hard to say, "Thanksgiving was 
> great, 
> the camping trip was great BUT..."  And it's a very big "but" so I 
> might as 
> well say it up front: Dr. Ken Woodside, our friend and a true lover 
> of nature 
> and life, suffered a heart attack -- and did not recover.  In true 
> Ken form, 
> I will talk about the positives, and not dwell on the negative.  
> This story 
> will be in sequential order, so...here goes:
> 
> This was my first trip to Cayo Costa since the park no longer 
> allowed us to 
> camp on the beach.  Gone was hearing the ocean and watching dolphins 
> from our 
> tents.  All things change, so I decided to give it a try.  One of 
> the pluses, 
> was that most of the heavy gear (including coolers) went via ferry 
> accompanied by our leader, Cathy Stripling.
> 
> Loren Vidaud, now from Orlando, and Mary Ann Marks, recently 
> relocated to 
> Naples, met us at the put-in on Pine Island (this is near Fort Myers 
> on the 
> west coast of Florida).  After hugs and kisses, shuttling vehicles, 
> and 
> loading gear, we enjoyed the lovely weather and the pleasant paddle 
> over to 
> the barrier island of Cayo Costa .
> 
> Once we arrived, all gear had to be lifted from floating canoes onto 
> a moored 
> power boat and then up to the wall.  Not as easy as our usual 
> "slide" onto 
> the sandy beach and then a short walk to the dunes where we used to 
> pitch our 
> tents.  The gear then had to be loaded onto a "tram" and we were 
> ferried down 
> a dirt road to another dumping spot.  AND THEN THE ABSOLUTE WORST 
> PART was 
> schlepping all our gear (and if you've ever been on one of our trips 
> you know 
> what this means) to the campsites at the very furthest end of the 
> campground. 
>  (Why do people feel the need to put us as far away as possible.  
> Us, noisy?  
> NEVER!  Well, maybe a little...)
> 
> Cathy had brought along a dolly, so the heavy stuff was rolled 
> along.  Camp 
> was set up and we started preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner al 
> fresco.  Loren 
> did a fantastic job of bringing us a cooked turkey dinner.  We had a 
> little 
> ceremony for the occasion and then dug in.  Yummy.  (Don't worry, 
> Loren, we 
> didn't mind not having our pumpkin pies, and yes, I know you'll 
> choose the 
> pre-cooked kind next time.)
> 
> Many Sierrans are hardy individuals who like to go out in the heat 
> and cut 
> down trails.  The first day was the mandatory work detail; the 
> second (and 
> much smaller) group was voluntary.  ( A couple of wimps were 
> delighted to be 
> relegated to camp clean up and lunch preparation.)  Ken was on both 
> of these 
> forays, giving no inclination that maybe he should have been taking 
> it easy.  
> He was in top form.  
> 
> Friday night's meal was a delicious spaghetti dinner catered by Ken. 
>  The 
> evening routine of sitting around the campfire telling stories and 
> jokes was 
> enhanced by musical interludes performed by Charles Baron on the 
> violin and 
> Ken on the recorder.  Greensleeves will now bring forth a special 
> memory.  
> The first line is, "What child is this, has laid to rest..."  Who 
> would have 
> thought that Ken himself would be "laid to rest" before the trip was 
> over.
> 
> I asked Ken to tell us about the time when he and other Sierrans 
> climbed to 
> the top of Fort Jefferson (in the Dry Tortugas, west of Key West) to 
> participate in the lowering of the flag ceremony.  The park rangers 
> provided 
> civil war era costumes and it was an unforgettable sight to see 
> members of 
> our group, led by Ken who (to the rangers' amazement) played an 
> appropriate 
> tune on his recorder, parading over this incredibly beautiful spot.
> 
> At Cayo Costa, individuals chose to hike, explore, lie on the beach, 
> or take 
> turns resting in my hammock.  We strengthened our ties with old 
> friends and 
> got to know new ones.  On this annual Thanksgiving ritual, 17 of us 
> chose to 
> be together.  Unfortunately, only 16 of us returned; however, that 
> in no way 
> diminishes the "specialness" of this holiday dedicated to giving 
> thanks.  If 
> anything, we came back even more grateful because we, at least, 
> still had the 
> gift of life.  
> 
> In my article on the Peace River trip I mentioned how a returning 
> motley crew 
> of Sierrans is like a family.  This was even more so on this 
> occasion.  We 
> were united by Ken's passing, and the sight of the Fire Rescue 
> helicopter 
> circling our campfire to give us the last opportunity to wave 
> goodbye as he 
> was lifted to the heavens is unforgettable.  His spirit will always 
> be with 
> us.
> 
> Sandy Kramer
>
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