By A.P. Crawford (ap.crawford@skipatrol.ca)
Darryl Murphy, Matthew Garvin, Daniel Penney, Joel Smith
On March 3, 2023, at Marble Mountain Resort in Newfoundland a skier lost control and fell, sustaining a deep laceration to their right lower leg, likely caused by a sharp ski edge.
Daniel Penney was off-duty and free-skiing when he happened upon the incident and immediately coached the patient’s companion to apply direct pressure to the wound while he activated a patrol response to the scene. As would be expected, the companions the patient had been skiing with were quite agitated both at the scene and in the base clinic, requiring additional effort to keep the situation calm.
Darryl Murphy was the first on-duty patroller to arrive on scene and noted the blood around the patient’s right leg along with the companion trying to stop the bleeding. She immediately cut away the clothing in the area to reveal what appeared to be an arterial bleed and applied a dressing and pressure bandage and then another pressure bandage to try to control the bleeding.
Joel Smith arrived with the toboggan and trauma kit that included a pre-made tourniquet which Darryl applied above the patient’s knee. The patient was then loaded into the toboggan for transport to the base clinic.
Matthew Garvin received the patient at the clinic and verified that bleeding was under control. Noting the tourniquet, he also verified the presence of a posterior tibial pulse before moving on to check vital signs. Working with Darryl, the pair then removed the patient’s boot and assisted the responding paramedics to cut away the remaining clothing before transferring to an ambulance.
The patient was transported to hospital for treatment. Information from the patient’s family indicated that an artery and several muscles in the leg had been severed and that the laceration extended to the bone, narrowly missing other major structures. Over the next few days, ongoing communication with the family indicated that the laceration had been closed through several procedures in hospital, and that the patient was in good spirits.
The CSP was honoured to present the John D. Harper Lifesaving Award to the team of Darryl Murphy, Joel Smith, Matthew Garvin and Daniel Penney for their lifesaving efforts.
This post is also available in: French