BAYFIELD, Wis. – U.S. Coast Guard Station Bayfield medically evacuated a 60-year-old male with diabetes from Rocky Island approximately 20 miles offshore the station Friday at approximately 5:45 p.m.
A 30-foot small response boat crew transported the man safely to shore, who needed an urgent replacement for an insulin pump.
“He was running out of insulin, but he was stable and ok,” said Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Chris LaValley, coxswain.
Upon safe transfer to shore, medical support provided the man with the needed insulin and pump.
Iniitally, a group of kayakers contacted the Coast Guard via channel 16, when they feared their friend would go into diabetic shock without a replacement insulin pump.
The Coast Guard encourages boaters to invest in a VHF-FM radio as their primary means of alerting distress on the water. Communication via VHF-FM radio provides superior alerting capabilities over cellular phones. A person in distress is only a call away from help on channel 16 with a marine band radio
