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| Project PAC Nepal 2009 |
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| In May, 2008, while returning from Everest Base Camp to Lukla with my trekking group of 18, we encountered a 30 year old Indian man who was suffering from severe high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). He arrived at our camp unable to walk, barely able to speak, with an oxygen saturation of 47%. At our altitude, oxygen saturation in a healthy, acclimatized person should be closer to 85%.
Although the Himalayan Rescue Association has emergency medical clinics in the villages of Lukla, Khunde, and Pheriche, on occassion, weather, resources, and geography prohibit patients in need from getting to that care in time to make a difference. Such was the case with this patient. Fortunately, my group had the necessary medications, a Gamow Bag (portable hyperbaric chamber), and knowledge of how to treat his illness. When a portable hyperbaric chamber is inflated, the atmospheric pressure inside the bag is higher than the atmospheric pressure outside the bag effectively lowering the altitude inside the bag. Getting a patient with severe altitude illness to a lower altitude is a key point of treatment. We placed my patient in our Gamow Bag and throughout the night several Sherpas from my group helped me care for this man by pumping the hyperbaric chamber to maintain its pressure. Hour by hour we watched him improve and after 17 hours in the bag his oxygen saturation had increased to 72%. The portable altitude chamber had saved his life!Sadly, only 48 hours prior to our arrival at Deboche, a young woman from Japan had died from high altitude illness at another nearby village. She needed a hyperbaric chamber and there was not one available. Sherpas and international trekkers die from altitude illness every year on their way to Everest Base Camp. It is my goal to raise enough money to purchase 10 hyperbaric bags and to provide the necessary training to the local people along this popular route. This project will provide a measure of safety not currently available for both trekkers and Sherpas. It will provide effective emergency treatment for those who have the misfortune of developing a life-threatening high altitude illness along the route to Everest Base Camp. For the complete story of my patient and more photos, please visit www.wildernesswise.com |
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Total Donations: $5,510
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Goal: $18,000
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