THE NEW YORK TIMES: Two women rescued from hot tub after brush with death
A friends’ trip to a remote cabin in the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky nearly turned deadly, local rescuers said Friday, after two women took an extended soak in a hot tub and developed hyperthermia, the opposite of hypothermia, in which the body is overheated and cannot cool.
The long period spent Wednesday night in the swirling, heated waters was unintentional, rescuers in rural Wolfe County said.
Two women in their 80s “were unable to get out of the tub because of pre-existing issues,” Wolfe County Search and Rescue said on its website.
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The cabin’s caretakers were able to get the two women out of the tub by the time rescuers arrived.
One woman was partially responsive, and the other was completely unresponsive and in critical condition, rescuers said.
One of the rescuers, an emergency medical technician, moved the critical patient to a shower, where cold water, along with ice, were applied. The team also applied ice and cold compresses to the less critical patient, before moving her outdoors, where she was doused with cold water from a hose.
After 20 to 30 minutes of cold water immersion, both patients began to recover, the rescuers said.
The women were taken to a hospital and have been discharged. Both women are said to be doing well, according to Kevin Osbourn, a spokesperson for the rescue group.
“This story could have ended much differently without the quick thinking of all those involved,” he said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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Originally published on The New York Times
