Winched from ship to have kidney transplant

[Docker123]

An interesting news story about cruising. :)

 

Woman winched from Emerald Princess so she can have a kidney transplant.

 

Wishing her the best in her recovery.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/woman-winched-from-bass-strait-cruise-liner-for-lifesaving-kidney-transplant-20170207-gu7265.html

[Womble99]

Wonder when this was? Emerald is currently headed for Akaroa after leaving Wellington today. We had a helo evac on the 2nd Jan Tas cruise maybe this was that one?

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes, I'm pretty sure it was that one. I was "watching" it using the MarineTraffic and FlightRadar websites and chatting on a FB site where someone on board was also posting. There was something posted on FB later to say the woman had been taken off for a kidney transplant. It was a wonderful effort by all concerned. :)

[MicCanberra]

Wow, hope she is recovering.

[Hawka]

Wonder when this was? Emerald is currently headed for Akaroa after leaving Wellington today. We had a helo evac on the 2nd Jan Tas cruise maybe this was that one?

 

reading the article it mentions tassie and i hope shes doing well too

[ozmonkeyboy]

Great article and great work by all involved....

 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[Bodogbodog]

We had a helo evac on the 2nd Jan Tas cruise maybe this was that one?

 

It was - we were on Crystal Symphony and saw Emerald in the distance while she was near the coast near the turn into Bass Strait (Emerald went south to Hobart) to facilitate the transfer

 

Our friends were onboard Emerald but said there were no specific announcements on the background to the evac

[MicCanberra]

Thanks Bodogbodog,

On a side note I always find it exciting to see another cruise ship while at sea.

[Aus Traveller]

I wonder if she will have to pay for the evacuation. She had been waiting for a transplant for six years, so a travel insurance company would be justified in saying it was for a pre-existing condition.

 

I wish her well.:)

Edited February 7, 2017 by Aus Traveller

[Bodogbodog]

You'll have to trust me on this but this is the Emerald Princess as seen from Crystal Symphony back in January

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks Bodogbodog,

On a side note I always find it exciting to see another cruise ship while at sea.

 

It's great ... unless you're too close to the ships horn. :D

 

We were up in the Sanctuary on Dawn Princess when we passed Sea Princess. The horn was just above the Sanctuary and, naturally, the two ships exchanged a few blasts. Ouch!

[OzKiwiJJ]

There was a Marine Rescue plane circling the ship for some time before the helicopter arrived. It's flight track was very interesting. Oddly enough the plane also showed up on the MarineTraffic map. It looked like a small boat but identified as a plane when you clicked on it.

[MicCanberra]

There was a Marine Rescue plane circling the ship for some time before the helicopter arrived. It's flight track was very interesting. Oddly enough the plane also showed up on the MarineTraffic map. It looked like a small boat but identified as a plane when you clicked on it.

 

I have been following a few ships of late, and it is definitely better than reality tv.:D

[pkwessel]

I can confirm this was on January 3 2017, as we were on the Emerald at the time. Unfortuately the vision is to small to see me!

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

Big Kudos to the flight crew for these operations (pardon the pun).

 

Great video. I have never seen a medivac at sea before. I notice they have removed all the deck furniture (sun loungers, tables etc) completely on the whole deck area not just on the pick up deck but also the pool deck below just in case the deck furniture gets blown around due to rotor wash.

 

Similarly, gusts of wind can cause the load aka 'the patient' to swing. It is a bad thing to hurt the patient more by swinging them into a bar stool on the way up to the aircraft.

 

I also notice no pax or crew are hovering in the wings in the operational areas. I do see a large 'audience' of folk one pool area forward. I must admit I would have been there with bells on, cameras rolling to watch the medivac ops not because I am a ghoul, simply to watch the helicopter ops.

 

I can assure you helicopter ops at sea are a regularly practiced activity. The pilots, the winch crew and the paramedics have to have so many 'competencies' to be signed off to do this task - and when you see how low their pay is it astounds me!

 

Well done to all concerned and I hope the patient does well.

 

Thanks to the OP for posting this story.

 

.

[Aus Traveller]

I have never seen a medivac at sea before. I notice they have removed all the deck furniture (sun loungers, tables etc) completely on the whole deck area not just on the pick up deck but also the pool deck below just in case the deck furniture gets blown around due to rotor wash.

On our last cruise there were two separate helicopter evacuations - different days of course. All loose furniture was removed from the deck area and it was closed off to everyone for quite a while.

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

On our last cruise there were two separate helicopter evacuations - different days of course. All loose furniture was removed from the deck area and it was closed off to everyone for quite a while.

 

In the video the pickup area was on the Emerald smokers area Deck 16 (I think), I guess we couldn't hear the lungs recovering over sound of the engine noise or notice the ship list due to all smokers running to deck 7 starboard aft. LOL

 

Hope all who got medivac'd are well and prosperous.

[bl262000]

Heres one of Pacific Peal late 2015,

 

https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/32765101/man-suffers-head-injury-on-pacific-pearl-cruise-ship/#page1

 

There is a better vid floating around showing the full evac from the helicopter but I cant find it ATM.

 

As to be observed, this area is usualy full of deck chairs, lounges, people etc....but has all been cleared away and looks bare. In the other vid I mentioned you can see all the people on the upper decks forward of the funnel watching the events happen.

 

cya

bl262000

[MicCanberra]

Cheers.

[cruisine21]

We have seen two Medivac's one on the Carnival Spirit an one on the Solstice in Alaska.

[Womble99]

Depends they may have covered it as a declared preexisting condition and run the odds. Let's face it they were pretty low for the insurance company and if they did have to pay out it has great pr value.

 

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[Suzi66]

On our last cruise there were two separate helicopter evacuations - different days of course. All loose furniture was removed from the deck area and it was closed off to everyone for quite a while.

 

On our last cruise there were also two separate helicopter evacuations but the first one was for two patients - the actual patient it was called for and then a passenger who was so busy trying to get in the best position so she could photograph the evacuation that she wasn't watching where she was going and fell over a bag of laundry and broke her arm.

 

The best place to watch both evacuations was actually on our TV's watching the broadcast from the bridge. It was very interesting.

[Tara Jane]

We had an evacuation on the Diamond Princess whilst in Japan in 2015 and were very impressed with the organization. It was around 6 pm dinner time for many, corridors were blocked off on one side of the ship, all those with oceanview and balcony rooms were asked to draw their drapes. No one was permitted outdoors.

Last year on Queen Mary 2 we had a call at 1 am for blood. The following days captain announcement thanked all those who responded. No report on the patient of course for privacy reasons. It was a reminder for those who are blood donors to take their cards along with them when travelling. Several people we spoke to over the next few days had commented that they were the correct blood group but hadn't brought along their cards so couldn't donate.

[Lifesaver1984]

It was a reminder for those who are blood donors to take their cards along with them when travelling. Several people we spoke to over the next few days had commented that they were the correct blood group but hadn't brought along their cards so couldn't donate.

 

I would have never thought to take my card along with me. I am due for my next whole blood donation the week I get back from my cruise in a few days time, but because we're going to New Caledonia I'll be on a compulsory 4 month deferral due to the remote chance of Malaria. I'm sure if there was a need for my blood on the ship they would take whatever they could get I suppose.

 

Off to put my donor card in my cruise docs.....

[Tara Jane]

Good, I hope it isn't needed but great that you will have it to help someone if the need arises. Not sure that they would take your blood on the ship without the card. The captains message was very clear that anyone willing to donate was to attend the medical centre with their blood donor card. I guess our cruise card has our pic as adequate Id as they didnt say to take passports. Considering the age of passengers and potential for medical issues thereby discounting many potential donors I was surprised to hear how many folk volunteered. Cant remember if it was 50 or 60 but in that range.

I did wonder why the medical centre wouldnt have a list of every crew member on board, their blood group and cabin number to be able to get blood almost instantly. Your comments about being excluded due to location of your cruise explained why that wouldn't work. Have a lovely cruise.