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Posted on 09/23/2006 10:51:28 PM PDT by naturalman1975
A NURSE who tried to resuscitate Steve Irwin says the Crocodile Hunter had virtually no hope of surviving the stingray attack that killed him.
Nurse Enid Traill said she and paramedics were shocked to learn the man they had been trying to save on the Great Barrier Reef was "the" Steve Irwin.
And in an uncanny coincidence, Mrs Traill said she knew the celebrity conservationist when he was a teenager – more than 1000km north of the Sunshine Coast where Mr Irwin grew up – but hadn't recognised him.
A stingray's barb pierced Mr Irwin's chest at 11.18am (AEST) at Batt Reef on September 4, News Limited reports.
He arrived at the remote Low Isles for treatment 34 minutes later, at 11.52 (AEST).
Mrs Traill, 55, offered to help those working on Mr Irwin as he was taken into a boat shed.
"I knew it was a terrible situation because we could not get any air into his lungs," she said.
"We worked on him for 10 minutes and then the paramedics arrived and examined the hole in his heart.
"They said he wouldn't have survived even if it happened in an operating theatre."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
The bet around our house was that he would be taken down by something much, much smaller that a gator, snake or spider.
Given Steve's propensity to jump into swamp water and wrangle with the filthiest of nature's carrion eaters, we were putting our money on parasites and/or microbes.
Any way you want to slice it, Mr Irwin was not what someone in the life insurance business would refer to as "insurable."
That is what I thought; the old rule of thumb is to not remove any penetrating object. Stabilize it and the patient and run like hell to the ER. Once he removed the barb it was moot. Had he left it in?? who knows but I thought he would have had a better chance. Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks for the post; note the section stating that it is extremely dangerous to swim above or in close proximity to stingrays. He made a mistake.
We all wish we could go back in time and make him throw a vest on.
Do you actually think a man who who dangle his infant son over a crocodile would wear a vest to protect himself?
This man lived life on the edge, and made those choices for his young children as well. He ultimately paid the price. If his children choose to follow in his footsteps, I hope it will be when they are of age, and can make the decisions for themselves.
From many reports it has been stated that he may have not seen the stingray that got him beforehand. It was said to have been buried in sand and they were filming another stingray nearby.
Every article I've read and his friend in the water said he was swimming above the ray and it nailed him; no stealth.
Beware of your comfort zone.
I'm good, have a four pound guard dog watching my every move from below my ankles. :)
Good night.
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Good post!
A bit off, but the odds were still low, low, low. There have apparently been an estimated 17 deaths worldwide from stingrays since the Civil War.
Yep...agree completely.
Most of you know that there will be a TV special in the U.S. on Wednesday night featuring Terri & Bindi Irwin and John Stainton in interviews with Barbara Walters.
While the promos have been all over ABC-TV, I can't find anything definitive online to tell us the exact program times in all our time zones, other than Central and Eastern. I don't know Mountain and Pacific.
What I read was confusingly written, but it did say something about "ranges from 17 deaths since 1860 to 30 in more recent years." I'm sure Algore would say that the stingrays are mad at what man's doing to nature, and that's why attacks are on the rise. :)
It is a shame he misread the response of this partcular one.
It's a shame that you posted without any facts.
Stingray - life of stingray fish in the wild
Injuries to humans from stingrays occur when an unsuspecting person steps on a ray, causing the creature to reflexively strike out with its tail.
Florida Museum of Natural History
Stingrays do not attack people, however if it is stepped on, the stingray will utilize its spine as a form of defense. Although being pierced by the stingray’s spine is painful, it is rarely life threatening to humans.
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