http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/new-york-legend-drowns-in-puerto-rico_145957/ If you surf LBNY you know the dude. Charged as hard as anyone and was always one of the top guys on the big days... I remeber one swell in 07 or 08. It was Valentines Day and it was bombing. It was also freezing and drifty. One of those walk 5 jetty's down and drift days... A bunch of us were on the boardwalk drinking coffee and debating if it was worth it. I was leaning towards no because I was freezing and the paddle looked like a nightmare. Ward pulled up already suited up. He walked up snickered and told us we should have stayed in bed if we were going to be pussies... So we paddled out and I remember him getting barreled right in front of us on the way out. Ended up being a great day.
I hard about that last week on RinconSUrf report. Having a heart attacking PR has a low survival rate--ambulance crews have zero training, are glorified taxi cab drivers. Hospitals in PR are not much better. He would have survived in NYC that is for sure. RIP.
My mom spent 2 days in the hospital in Mayaguez. They don't even provide blankets or pillows. My dad had to run out and buy some for her. This was last winter not 40 yrs ago.
What a dumb, ignorant, and disrespectful thing to say. Having a heart attack while surfing is tough to survive no matter where you are. CPR has to begin right away and being out in big surf is not conducive to providing quick care for a heart attack. Probably took 20 minutes just to get him ashore. And you don't even know the severity. Best treatment in the world and he still could have passed if it was a major heart attack. It's a blessing his fellow surfers got to him before he was lost at sea.
I can attest to the sh*tty conditions at Mayaguez. That's where I went when I severely dislocated my shoulder down there. I sat there for 7-8hrs with my shoulder completely dislocated, no drugs, no help, and nobody spoke English except for one guy who kinda did and I had to try and speak Spanish to give them my info. My wife speaks better Spanish than me and was helping out but it was a nightmare trying to get someone to see me and set my shoulder, they waited until the moment right before they set my shoulder to give me anything. 7-8hrs of it just hanging by a thread... On top of that I had a huge gash around my hip area from where my fin had filleted me open good. They didn't even bother to do anything with it. After I woke up from the drugs, I was laying in the middle of a hall way on the gurney. My wife had to flag someone down to tend to my wound. All they did was put iodine on it and called it a day. I have a nice scar as a result.
The circumstances of his demise are hard anywhere. However, the same thing here would have had better outcomes had he gotten to the shore quicker and had a competent crew in healthcare workers; he did not. That was my point. I worked in healthcare for 35 years; I lived in PR for 18. I can recognize poor healthcare systems immediately as it was my job to evaluate them. PR sucks for healthcare. The best part was the Coast Guard. As for being dumb or ignorant, your post is a classic example of that. Not only have you managed to insert your foot in your mouth, you managed to get the other one in with it. Need evidence?? Read two of the above posted experiences with PR healthcare.
I thought the name sounded familiar. Turns out he's a local guy. Can't put a gave to the name and didn't read the article yet. But regardless, it's a sad day when i local passes. Or any water brother for that matter. RIP
