Bear scare tragedy

[CatskillsYeti]

From this story, it looks like physical contact with a black bear is not necessary for adverse outcome:

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/217/region/Massachusetts_camper_dies_in_NP.shtml

 

[LittleBear]

If the boy went into respiratory distress I can only believe there was some underlying medical condition - maybe asthma? I wonder if the autopsy will answer any questions in this regard.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

OMG... I feel so bad for his family. I do find it hard to believe that he doesn't have an undelying medical condition though.

 

[CatskillsYeti]

Exercise-induced respiratory distress due to asthma - coupled with the shock and stress of encountering the bear - is very likely the cause, but the autopsy will have the real answers. Inner-city kids have a relatively high incidence of asthma. The sad irony is that this was a trip to give the kids a break from the city.

 

[LittleBear]

I would agree with you, CatskillsYeti. Although the article indicates that authorities didn't believe the boy had any medical problems. Hard to believe the camp wouldn't have known the boy had asthma or some other respiratory issues - unless he's not covered by any medical insurance and his parents left the condition(s) untreated. The respiratory distress may have also been aggravated by the poor air quality over the past few days. Very sad - I feel for the parents. We are not meant to outlive our children.

 

[CatskillsYeti]

LittleBear - in today's litiginous environment, the camp may have known, informally, about an underlying medical condition but may not have wanted to admit it until lawyers were consulted. Who knows? It's all just very sad.

 

[LittleBear]

It would be awful if the camp did know about underlying medical conditions - especially asthma - and the counselor did not have the boy's inhaler with him. It appears that many camps (and schools) don't allow the camper or student to carry his/her inhaler and requires it to reside with the school nurse or the camp's medical personnel. Lot of good that does the child when he/she is having an asthma attack. I fought long and hard with my son's school in order that he could carry his inhaler with him.

I also know that in some instances camp counselors may not have appropriate first aid training or even knowledge of CPR, as these positions are often not very well paid and some camps are hard-pressed to fill them.

I believe there was a family that won a Wrongful Death suit against a camp when their daughter had a severe asthma attack at night in her cabin and the counselor did not have access to her inhaler.

Whether there was a known condition or not - it is a very sad outcome for a kid who went to camp to have some fun and experience an environment so completely different from the city.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

I fought long and hard with my son's school in order that he could carry his inhaler with him

I'm gonna regret this 'cause it's gonna get me all wound up, but why, oh why, wouldn't a school let a kid carry an inhaler?

 

[LittleBear]

Because it is a prescription and kids can't carry drugs on their person while in school - not even aspirin!

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

I see their point... don't want any inhaler junkies.

 

[LittleBear]

The no drug rule, of course, makes sense. You don't want kids coming to school with all kinds of illegal substances (of course some do anyway) or even older kids coming to school with other over the counter meds and handing them out to their friends indiscriminately. It's just that they have taken it to an extreme and not used any common sense. Now in most schools any medication, whether it is prescription or over the counter that a kid must take during the day, must be dispensed by the school nurse. That includes allergy medications, cold and cough medicines (including cough drops!), Advil, etc. In most instances I can understand having a nurse dispense medications to insure that the child gets the right dose at the right time. But with asthma inhalers, they need to be utilized (and give the best results) if they are used immediately upon the onset of difficulty breathing. Waiting until a child can get to the nurses' office often makes it hard for the inhaler to work quickly and it takes longer to get the asthma attack under control. If the child is at recess, he/she may not seek the nurse immediately since they want to stay outside and play with their friends and not seem "different." My son even experienced an episode when he was on a field trip and guess where his inhaler was!!! Right - in the nurses office back at the school. That incident was the turning point where he went to school. After that they allowed all children to carry their inhalers with them.

 

[mavs00]

Man, that sucks

I just read this story. There another -LINK- provided by Mr. X (in another thread). How terribly sad.

As a relate, recently we were coming off Redfield (ADKs) at dusk and allowed our 13 y/o son (same age as the boy that died) get ahead of the group by about 2-3 minutes or so. Generally, we always group hike within sight or hearing of each other, but at the end of a 12 hour hike day, we got a little lax. Besides, Nick's is not a novice hiker. Been hiking for quite awhile, a boy scout and 3 peaks from the coveted 46.

At the base of ther herd path, he ran into a bear nosing around the Uphill Brook lean-to area. The bear was about 50 feet away and never really looked in my son's direction and eventually lumbered off, but when the group caught up a few minutes later, there was one, all alone and very frightened 13 y/o boy (clutching his 3" pocket knife in the waning light).

Now, as he looks back, it was "way cool", however in the moment it was probably one of the scarier moments in his young life. Just goes to show, that no matter how skilled you think kids are or how many peaks they've done (or even what they've gone through in thier life), the woods can be a VERY frightning place.

From the article, it sounds like a little panic-ing went on as far as the running around and stuff. I agree, there probably was some underlying "undiagnosed" medical condition that contributed.

Still, we must find a lesson I think. For me, it's that brining children (be them "never been in the woods" or "seasoned aspiring 46er" types) comes with a big responsibility. Nature is full of wonderful, but sometimes scary things, and that with some education and learning BEFOREHAND it can produce some of the most rewarding an exciting of life's experiences. After all, how many 13 y/o's can say they been in close proximaty to a "wild bear" in its natural environment. Hell, The Animal Planet (TV Channel) dedicates whole shows and the very subject .

Sorry for the ramble, but this story touches me in its sadness. I can't help to think that had the counsellor (probably a kid himself), remained calm and took control (as opposed to running off, which causes the body to go into panic overload), then this situation could have just as easily been a cherished moment in a young life, as opposed to it's actual tragic result.

 

[brianW]

One of the Boston channels mentioned that the boy might of had a heart mummur that was never detected.

I worked one summer at a camp for inner city kids and was suprized at how many kids had heart and breathing problems at such a young age. I also rember that any little noise they heard in the woods usally scared the hell out of them even if it was a chipmunk.

At the same time, these kids are experiencing things for the first time. The sounds of the woods, little noise, fresh air and what seemd like a big hit with most of them, being able to see the stars at night. I find it very sad to hear news like this from a place that should be filled with joy and laughter.

note: I don't understand why this thread was moved from Q&A or General Backcountry

 

[crazymama]

I've now read a couple of news stories that indicate that prior to seeing the bear that the boy was having trouble keeping up with the group, and had fallen behind with his counselor. Even after they ran from the bear, the two were able to start walking back to the trailhead, and made contact with help by cellphone before he actually collapsed.

It sounds like he was having a hard time BEFORE he saw the bear, and then the additional exertion of running was more than his heart or lungs could manage. I could see this happening in an otherwise healthy person who was unconditioned, dehydrated, and overheated. Probably only a life-threatening fear (such as a nearby bear) could have caused him to push beyond his limit.

This is a heartbreaking story.

 

[Mike D.]

I heard on the news this morning something about an irregular heart rythme.Still sad.

 

[cooperhill]

I was a bit annoyed by the news coverage ... I think it was Channel 7 that opened by saying that the boy was running for his life from a bear. A bit of an exaggeration to say the least.

 

[RoySwkr]

Here are two more news links:
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.d...5&Kategori=REPOSITORY&Lopenr=408050313&Ref=AR
says that kids must have a complete physical before attending, also the kid was having trouble earlier so the group was split with the kid and one counselor taking a shorter trail down - not returning from whence they came

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.d...6&Kategori=REPOSITORY&Lopenr=408060331&Ref=AR
is the really scary one, if the state can't find some rule that the camp violated they will make one! Maybe next they will work on regular hikers?