Emergency Medical Training

Last February, we had an emergency at Karanambu. 10 year old Vincent received a pretty serious head injury from a fall while riding his horse with his father Marvin.  Marvin brought him immediately to Karanambu.  Vincent had a large gash on the top of his head which required suturing.  Fortunately for Vincent, two of our guests were doctors.  In a matter on minutes, Dr. Peter stitched Vincent up.  Now, 6 months later, there isn't even a visible scare.  Had Dr. Peter not been there, the story would have been quite different.  The Lethem hospital is a good 2-1/2 hours away by road in the dry season!  It is this story that caused Andrea to approach Captain Malcolm Chan-a-Sue.  Malcolm is the CEO of the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School.  He is also a member of the Karanambu Lodge, Inc. board and the spearhead behind the First Response Emergency Medical Care program.  After a lengthy discussion, Malcolm invited Andrea to Ogle Airport for an introduction to the program and the opportunity to meet Nurse Marcia Gravesande who conducts this intensive first aid training.

Captain Malcolm Chan-a-Sue

They discussed the "worst case scenarios", many of which had never occurred to Andrea; plane crash, snake bite, boat accident, jaguar attack...as the list continued, Andrea's desire to get the training in place at Karanambu increased!

Malcolm explained the necessary items to be maintained on hand at all times.  He led the way to the First Aid Box, located in the hanger at Ogle Airport.  The box remains locked until it is needed.

The Box contains THREE emergency First Aid boxes. RED is for the most severe emergency.  Yellow is for moderate and Green is for everyday injuries. 

Malcolm explained that the program would be willing to donate the medical supplies to Karanambu, but that there were certain things that we would still need to make ourselves.  The wooden backboards used to move someone from an accident scene were high on the list of priorities.

After spending most of the day together, we agreed upon the training dates!  October 27th - November 2nd, Nurse Gravesande and Malcolm will come to Karanambu to train and certify everyone on our staff in First Response Medical Care. Nurse Gravesande will give Andrea additional training, which will allow her to cover a serious emergency until a medical team can be flow in by plane.

Sydney Allicock, the chairman of the NRDDB (North Rupununi Development Board), is staying at Cara Lodge in Georgetown.  When Andrea told him about our plans for the medical training at Karanambu, Sydney enthusiastically told her that Karanambu will be the very first to receive such training and certification in the Rupununi!!! 

Pretty Neat!