NEW YORK – The Coast Guard medevaced a man reportedly suffering a seizure aboard a fishing vessel three miles off of Sandy Hook, N.J., at around 9 a.m. today.
The man was a passenger aboard the Elaine B II, a head boat based in Highlands, N.J. Crewmembers noticed the man go into what they described as a seizure and initiated CPR when the man’s pulse and breathing apparently stopped.
The master of the Elaine B II immediately notified the Coast Guard via marine band radio.
Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook launched two crews aboard 25-foot and 41-foot rescue boats. The 25-foot rescue boat crew arrived on scene in 15 minutes and Petty Officer Jeremiah Cantrell and Seaman Luis Lopez boarded the vessel to stabilize the victim for transport to Station Sandy Hook.
“When Cantrell and Lopez got aboard the Elaine B, crewmembers told them that the man began to breathe on his own,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Servatius, the officer of the day at Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook. “Cantrell approached the man and shouted his name; the man opened his eyes and regained consciousness.”
According to Servatius, this was Cantrell’s first major rescue case. Many men and women join the Coast Guard to help people and maintain the 217-year old tradition of saving lives at sea.
The Coast Guard rescue crews placed the man onto the 41-foot rescue boat for the transit back to Station Sandy Hook where a Sea Bright ambulance crew transported him to Monmouth Medical Center.
