PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Coast Guard medically evacuated a man suffering from a possible stroke aboard a fishing boat about 12 miles off the coast of Rudee Inlet, Va., at 1 p.m. Friday.
Coast Guardsmen overheard Virginia Beach dispatch talking with a fire department's boat crew and followed up to see if they could help. Sector Hampton Roads watchstanders found that it would take an hour for the man to get to an ambulance by boat. Coast Guard 5th District watchstanders diverted an Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew from a training flight in the area. They arrived 15 minutes later and hoisted the man aboard.
He was suffering from slurred speech and a slow heart rate. The helicopter crew transported him in stable condition to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for treatment.
