John Doyle's Panamanian Adventure - Revision history

Murray at 23:22, 5 January 2022

2022-01-05T23:22:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:22, 5 January 2022
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{righttoc}}		{{righttoc}}
	This wiki page served as a status and information page about the search and rescue efforts to recover John Doyle, who disappeared in the mountains of Panama on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26), approximately 5 PM Panama time (3 PM California/PDT). He was located and recovered over two days later on Tuesday, Aug. 28.		This wiki page served as a status and information page about the search and rescue efforts to recover John Doyle, who disappeared in the mountains of Panama on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26, 2007), approximately 5 PM Panama time (3 PM California/PDT). He was located and recovered over two days later on Tuesday, Aug. 28.

	== What Happened ==		== What Happened ==

Mhucka: /* John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery */

2007-10-09T00:15:48Z

John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:15, 9 October 2007
Line 16:		Line 16:
	''I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)''		''I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)''

	I was conscious, but pretty sure this fall would ultimately be fatal as it seemed to be too far and have too many body hits to be survivable. Initially I couldn't move anything, but gradually was able to start moving at least my hands, feet, and head, which was encouraging. I had deep cuts on my head, lower back, and right elbow, and these were bleeding freely. (Later analysis of my hematocrit drop of a 41 to 31 suggests I lost about 25% of my blood volume through bleeding. This seems consistent with my observations, though much of that bleeding ended up in lots of large hematomas, the rest was left on the hillside.) Everything else hurt and my right leg was nearly useless. I could wiggle it but nothing worked. My left side seemed mostly ok (I realized later that this was just relative) so I could crawl on my butt using the left hand and foot, dragging the rights. My lower back was a mess so I had to avoid scraping it on anything.		''I was conscious, but pretty sure this fall would ultimately be fatal as it seemed to be too far and have too many body hits to be survivable. Initially I couldn't move anything, but gradually was able to start moving at least my hands, feet, and head, which was encouraging. I had deep cuts on my head, lower back, and right elbow, and these were bleeding freely. (Later analysis of my hematocrit drop of a 41 to 31 suggests I lost about 25% of my blood volume through bleeding. This seems consistent with my observations, though much of that bleeding ended up in lots of large hematomas, the rest was left on the hillside.) Everything else hurt and my right leg was nearly useless. I could wiggle it but nothing worked. My left side seemed mostly ok (I realized later that this was just relative) so I could crawl on my butt using the left hand and foot, dragging the rights. My lower back was a mess so I had to avoid scraping it on anything.''

	It appeared that I was maintaining consciousness ok (well, more or less like usual for me). The bleeding slowed quickly (the coagulation cascade worked robustly), and I was near a streambed/waterfall so I might be able to have a water source. So I assumed this could be survivable and there was maybe an hour of daylight left so I wanted to maximize my chances of rescue.		''It appeared that I was maintaining consciousness ok (well, more or less like usual for me). The bleeding slowed quickly (the coagulation cascade worked robustly), and I was near a streambed/waterfall so I might be able to have a water source. So I assumed this could be survivable and there was maybe an hour of daylight left so I wanted to maximize my chances of rescue. ''

	I "crawled" down the mountain to a point that seemed promising. It showed signs of human landscaping, had a stream/waterfall, a place to sit, and had a broad view of the large valley below. (It turned out to be far from roads though.) It was dark, foggy, and rainy so I yelled for help until I decided I should save my voice for daylight.		''I "crawled" down the mountain to a point that seemed promising. It showed signs of human landscaping, had a stream/waterfall, a place to sit, and had a broad view of the large valley below. (It turned out to be far from roads though.) It was dark, foggy, and rainy so I yelled for help until I decided I should save my voice for daylight. ''

	On Monday morning I started yelling "help" around daylight (6am) and various things hoping to get the attention of rescuers that I could hear above me and in the valley, but by the time darkness (6pm) was approaching there was no sign of rescuers. Having not slept and eaten in 24 hours, and lost lots of blood, I was hallucinating distant rescuers that were unlikely to exist. But lots of people heard me but could not locate me.		''On Monday morning I started yelling "help" around daylight (6am) and various things hoping to get the attention of rescuers that I could hear above me and in the valley, but by the time darkness (6pm) was approaching there was no sign of rescuers. Having not slept and eaten in 24 hours, and lost lots of blood, I was hallucinating distant rescuers that were unlikely to exist. But lots of people heard me but could not locate me.''

	I moved around Tuesday nite using the twilight and then the (fortunately) full moon to crawl to a hopefully more promising location, yelling all the time to attract attention. On Tues morning I was heard and spotted, but the rugged terrain meant it was afternoon when rescuers arrived. It was getting dark by the time I was moved, heroically, by a team of dozens of people to an ambulance that took me to a local clinic for a quick checkup and some shots and IV fluids and then on to Panama City about an hour away, arriving in the middle of the night.		''I moved around Tuesday nite using the twilight and then the (fortunately) full moon to crawl to a hopefully more promising location, yelling all the time to attract attention. On Tues morning I was heard and spotted, but the rugged terrain meant it was afternoon when rescuers arrived. It was getting dark by the time I was moved, heroically, by a team of dozens of people to an ambulance that took me to a local clinic for a quick checkup and some shots and IV fluids and then on to Panama City about an hour away, arriving in the middle of the night. ''

	The Panama hospital and doctors were fantastic. They cleaned the wounds, started IV antibiotics, and confirmed by CT scan that there was only minimal bone fracture. I'm swollen into very strange shapes but can sort of walk. Very fortunate all around.		''The Panama hospital and doctors were fantastic. They cleaned the wounds, started IV antibiotics, and confirmed by CT scan that there was only minimal bone fracture. I'm swollen into very strange shapes but can sort of walk. Very fortunate all around.''

	There were some weird and/or wonderful things that I'll try to write down. Everyone was fabulous, lots of people I don't even know about yet. I had bizarre visual hallucinations on Tues nite when objects were too dark or distant to resolve unambiguously, probably due to no sleep, no food, blood loss, and exhaustion. The ICU is interesting from the patient sides, as is the rescue process, which I won't understand until I can compare notes with the rescuers. In the ICU my heart exhibited and then lost a new but mild electrical problem that was probably unrelated to the accident but was due to my (recently diagnosed) sarcoidosis (this has been an interesting year medically). '''		''There were some weird and/or wonderful things that I'll try to write down. Everyone was fabulous, lots of people I don't even know about yet. I had bizarre visual hallucinations on Tues nite when objects were too dark or distant to resolve unambiguously, probably due to no sleep, no food, blood loss, and exhaustion. The ICU is interesting from the patient sides, as is the rescue process, which I won't understand until I can compare notes with the rescuers. In the ICU my heart exhibited and then lost a new but mild electrical problem that was probably unrelated to the accident but was due to my (recently diagnosed) sarcoidosis (this has been an interesting year medically).''

	== Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) ==		== Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) ==

Mhucka: /* John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery */

2007-10-09T00:15:18Z

John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:15, 9 October 2007
Line 12:		Line 12:
	== John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery ==		== John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery ==

	'''At 3pm Sunday I went for a quick hike suggested in Frommer's (mostly excellent) guide, telling Marie I'd be back at 5pm. It was an "easy to moderate" 2.5 hr loop whose highlight was a peak roughly 600m up from the hotel (at 1200m) that had views of both oceans and El Valle de Anton. The route up was wet and muddy with lots of use of hands and a few short roped spots but safe and non-technical but didn't seem "moderate" so I was expecting the return route to be easier. I got to the top at 4ish but accidentally cut my right hand on some vegetation near the top. That limited my use of my right hand (and started the cascading failure), but also my left to keep the blood from flowing too freely.		''At 3pm Sunday I went for a quick hike suggested in Frommer's (mostly excellent) guide, telling Marie I'd be back at 5pm. It was an "easy to moderate" 2.5 hr loop whose highlight was a peak roughly 600m up from the hotel (at 1200m) that had views of both oceans and El Valle de Anton. The route up was wet and muddy with lots of use of hands and a few short roped spots but safe and non-technical but didn't seem "moderate" so I was expecting the return route to be easier. I got to the top at 4ish but accidentally cut my right hand on some vegetation near the top. That limited my use of my right hand (and started the cascading failure), but also my left to keep the blood from flowing too freely.''

	I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)		''I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)''

	I was conscious, but pretty sure this fall would ultimately be fatal as it seemed to be too far and have too many body hits to be survivable. Initially I couldn't move anything, but gradually was able to start moving at least my hands, feet, and head, which was encouraging. I had deep cuts on my head, lower back, and right elbow, and these were bleeding freely. (Later analysis of my hematocrit drop of a 41 to 31 suggests I lost about 25% of my blood volume through bleeding. This seems consistent with my observations, though much of that bleeding ended up in lots of large hematomas, the rest was left on the hillside.) Everything else hurt and my right leg was nearly useless. I could wiggle it but nothing worked. My left side seemed mostly ok (I realized later that this was just relative) so I could crawl on my butt using the left hand and foot, dragging the rights. My lower back was a mess so I had to avoid scraping it on anything.		I was conscious, but pretty sure this fall would ultimately be fatal as it seemed to be too far and have too many body hits to be survivable. Initially I couldn't move anything, but gradually was able to start moving at least my hands, feet, and head, which was encouraging. I had deep cuts on my head, lower back, and right elbow, and these were bleeding freely. (Later analysis of my hematocrit drop of a 41 to 31 suggests I lost about 25% of my blood volume through bleeding. This seems consistent with my observations, though much of that bleeding ended up in lots of large hematomas, the rest was left on the hillside.) Everything else hurt and my right leg was nearly useless. I could wiggle it but nothing worked. My left side seemed mostly ok (I realized later that this was just relative) so I could crawl on my butt using the left hand and foot, dragging the rights. My lower back was a mess so I had to avoid scraping it on anything.

Mhucka: /* John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery */

2007-10-09T00:15:02Z

John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:15, 9 October 2007
Line 12:		Line 12:
	== John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery ==		== John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery ==

	"At 3pm Sunday I went for a quick hike suggested in Frommer's (mostly excellent) guide, telling Marie I'd be back at 5pm. It was an "easy to moderate" 2.5 hr loop whose highlight was a peak roughly 600m up from the hotel (at 1200m) that had views of both oceans and El Valle de Anton. The route up was wet and muddy with lots of use of hands and a few short roped spots but safe and non-technical but didn't seem "moderate" so I was expecting the return route to be easier. I got to the top at 4ish but accidentally cut my right hand on some vegetation near the top. That limited my use of my right hand (and started the cascading failure), but also my left to keep the blood from flowing too freely.		'''At 3pm Sunday I went for a quick hike suggested in Frommer's (mostly excellent) guide, telling Marie I'd be back at 5pm. It was an "easy to moderate" 2.5 hr loop whose highlight was a peak roughly 600m up from the hotel (at 1200m) that had views of both oceans and El Valle de Anton. The route up was wet and muddy with lots of use of hands and a few short roped spots but safe and non-technical but didn't seem "moderate" so I was expecting the return route to be easier. I got to the top at 4ish but accidentally cut my right hand on some vegetation near the top. That limited my use of my right hand (and started the cascading failure), but also my left to keep the blood from flowing too freely.

	I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)		I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)
Line 28:		Line 28:
	The Panama hospital and doctors were fantastic. They cleaned the wounds, started IV antibiotics, and confirmed by CT scan that there was only minimal bone fracture. I'm swollen into very strange shapes but can sort of walk. Very fortunate all around.		The Panama hospital and doctors were fantastic. They cleaned the wounds, started IV antibiotics, and confirmed by CT scan that there was only minimal bone fracture. I'm swollen into very strange shapes but can sort of walk. Very fortunate all around.

	There were some weird and/or wonderful things that I'll try to write down. Everyone was fabulous, lots of people I don't even know about yet. I had bizarre visual hallucinations on Tues nite when objects were too dark or distant to resolve unambiguously, probably due to no sleep, no food, blood loss, and exhaustion. The ICU is interesting from the patient sides, as is the rescue process, which I won't understand until I can compare notes with the rescuers. In the ICU my heart exhibited and then lost a new but mild electrical problem that was probably unrelated to the accident but was due to my (recently diagnosed) sarcoidosis (this has been an interesting year medically). "		There were some weird and/or wonderful things that I'll try to write down. Everyone was fabulous, lots of people I don't even know about yet. I had bizarre visual hallucinations on Tues nite when objects were too dark or distant to resolve unambiguously, probably due to no sleep, no food, blood loss, and exhaustion. The ICU is interesting from the patient sides, as is the rescue process, which I won't understand until I can compare notes with the rescuers. In the ICU my heart exhibited and then lost a new but mild electrical problem that was probably unrelated to the accident but was due to my (recently diagnosed) sarcoidosis (this has been an interesting year medically). '''

	== Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) ==		== Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) ==

Mhucka: /* What Happened */

2007-10-09T00:13:24Z

What Happened

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:13, 9 October 2007
Line 3:		Line 3:

	== What Happened ==		== What Happened ==

			John and Marie were on vacation in [http://www.enjoypanama.com/elvalle.htm El Valle, Panama]. John went for a run on a trail yesterday (Sun) at 3 pm and was supposed to be back by 5 pm. When he wasn't back by 7 pm, they knew something was wrong and they started looking for him shortly after that. They searched until 1 am, but had to call off the search due to rain and clouds (plus darkness). They began the search again Monday morning and continued all day Monday. Initial contact is believed to have been made Monday, and he was located approximately (via shouting) by search teams on Tuesday morning. A quite massive effort was mounted to pinpoint his location on Tuesday, with many people, dogs, helicopter, the works. Tuesday he was located, extracted, and in the evening, finally transported to a hospital in Panama City.

	[[Image:John-and-marie.jpg\|frame\|Marie and John in 2004]]		[[Image:John-and-marie.jpg\|frame\|Marie and John in 2004]]

	John and Marie were on vacation in [http://www.enjoypanama.com/elvalle.htm El Valle, Panama]. John went for a run on a trail yesterday (Sun) at 3 pm and was supposed to be back by 5 pm. When he wasn't back by 7 pm, they knew something was wrong and they started looking for him shortly after that. They searched until 1 am, but had to call off the search due to rain and clouds (plus darkness). They began the search again Monday morning and continued all day Monday. Initial contact is believed to have been made Monday, and he was located approximately (via shouting) by search teams on Tuesday morning. A quite massive effort was mounted to pinpoint his location on Tuesday, with many people, dogs, helicopter, the works. Tuesday he was located, extracted, and in the evening, finally transported to a hospital in Panama City.

	The El Valle area is a settled location, with quite a few Americans, but it is relatively wild in flora/fauna. [http://www.canopylodge.com/gallery/vista.php Here is a virtual tour of the region with pictures], courtesy of another hotel in the region.		The El Valle area is a settled location, with quite a few Americans, but it is relatively wild in flora/fauna. [http://www.canopylodge.com/gallery/vista.php Here is a virtual tour of the region with pictures], courtesy of another hotel in the region.

Mhucka: /* John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery */

2007-10-09T00:13:16Z

John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:13, 9 October 2007
Line 12:		Line 12:
	== John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery ==		== John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery ==

	"		"At 3pm Sunday I went for a quick hike suggested in Frommer's (mostly excellent) guide, telling Marie I'd be back at 5pm. It was an "easy to moderate" 2.5 hr loop whose highlight was a peak roughly 600m up from the hotel (at 1200m) that had views of both oceans and El Valle de Anton. The route up was wet and muddy with lots of use of hands and a few short roped spots but safe and non-technical but didn't seem "moderate" so I was expecting the return route to be easier. I got to the top at 4ish but accidentally cut my right hand on some vegetation near the top. That limited my use of my right hand (and started the cascading failure), but also my left to keep the blood from flowing too freely.
	At 3pm Sunday I went for a quick hike suggested in Frommer's (mostly excellent) guide, telling Marie I'd be back at 5pm. It was an "easy to moderate" 2.5 hr loop whose highlight was a peak roughly 600m up from the hotel (at 1200m) that had views of both oceans and El Valle de Anton. The route up was wet and muddy with lots of use of hands and a few short roped spots but safe and non-technical but didn't seem "moderate" so I was expecting the return route to be easier. I got to the top at 4ish but accidentally cut my right hand on some vegetation near the top. That limited my use of my right hand (and started the cascading failure), but also my left to keep the blood from flowing too freely.

	I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)		I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)

Mhucka at 00:12, 9 October 2007

2007-10-09T00:12:58Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:12, 9 October 2007
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{righttoc}}		{{righttoc}}
	This page ~~is intended to provide~~ information about the ~~status of~~ John Doyle, who ~~went missing~~ in the mountains of Panama on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26) approximately 5 PM Panama time (3 PM California/PDT).		This wiki page served as a status and information page about the search and rescue efforts to recover John Doyle, who disappeared in the mountains of Panama on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26), approximately 5 PM Panama time (3 PM California/PDT). He was located and recovered over two days later on Tuesday, Aug. 28.



	== What Happened ==		== What Happened ==
Line 11:		Line 9:

	The El Valle area is a settled location, with quite a few Americans, but it is relatively wild in flora/fauna. [http://www.canopylodge.com/gallery/vista.php Here is a virtual tour of the region with pictures], courtesy of another hotel in the region.		The El Valle area is a settled location, with quite a few Americans, but it is relatively wild in flora/fauna. [http://www.canopylodge.com/gallery/vista.php Here is a virtual tour of the region with pictures], courtesy of another hotel in the region.

			== John's Summary of the Events, after his recovery ==

			"
			At 3pm Sunday I went for a quick hike suggested in Frommer's (mostly excellent) guide, telling Marie I'd be back at 5pm. It was an "easy to moderate" 2.5 hr loop whose highlight was a peak roughly 600m up from the hotel (at 1200m) that had views of both oceans and El Valle de Anton. The route up was wet and muddy with lots of use of hands and a few short roped spots but safe and non-technical but didn't seem "moderate" so I was expecting the return route to be easier. I got to the top at 4ish but accidentally cut my right hand on some vegetation near the top. That limited my use of my right hand (and started the cascading failure), but also my left to keep the blood from flowing too freely.

			I decided (unwisely, continuing the cascade) that using the up route to go down needed too much hand work so looked for the continuation of the (as it turns out apparently nonexistent) "loop" and pursued the most promising path down. I proceeded just a bit on what increasingly appeared not to be a trail but a mix of vegetation and fairly sheer cliffs of rock with a stream. About when I was deciding to go back, the vegetation gave way and I slid down and fell off a cliff. I don't know how far I dropped but I tumbled several times before hitting an outcropping and stopping the fall. (I'm hoping to get an exact location where I was ultimately found and figure out what route I took on a topo map.)

			I was conscious, but pretty sure this fall would ultimately be fatal as it seemed to be too far and have too many body hits to be survivable. Initially I couldn't move anything, but gradually was able to start moving at least my hands, feet, and head, which was encouraging. I had deep cuts on my head, lower back, and right elbow, and these were bleeding freely. (Later analysis of my hematocrit drop of a 41 to 31 suggests I lost about 25% of my blood volume through bleeding. This seems consistent with my observations, though much of that bleeding ended up in lots of large hematomas, the rest was left on the hillside.) Everything else hurt and my right leg was nearly useless. I could wiggle it but nothing worked. My left side seemed mostly ok (I realized later that this was just relative) so I could crawl on my butt using the left hand and foot, dragging the rights. My lower back was a mess so I had to avoid scraping it on anything.

			It appeared that I was maintaining consciousness ok (well, more or less like usual for me). The bleeding slowed quickly (the coagulation cascade worked robustly), and I was near a streambed/waterfall so I might be able to have a water source. So I assumed this could be survivable and there was maybe an hour of daylight left so I wanted to maximize my chances of rescue.

			I "crawled" down the mountain to a point that seemed promising. It showed signs of human landscaping, had a stream/waterfall, a place to sit, and had a broad view of the large valley below. (It turned out to be far from roads though.) It was dark, foggy, and rainy so I yelled for help until I decided I should save my voice for daylight.

			On Monday morning I started yelling "help" around daylight (6am) and various things hoping to get the attention of rescuers that I could hear above me and in the valley, but by the time darkness (6pm) was approaching there was no sign of rescuers. Having not slept and eaten in 24 hours, and lost lots of blood, I was hallucinating distant rescuers that were unlikely to exist. But lots of people heard me but could not locate me.

			I moved around Tuesday nite using the twilight and then the (fortunately) full moon to crawl to a hopefully more promising location, yelling all the time to attract attention. On Tues morning I was heard and spotted, but the rugged terrain meant it was afternoon when rescuers arrived. It was getting dark by the time I was moved, heroically, by a team of dozens of people to an ambulance that took me to a local clinic for a quick checkup and some shots and IV fluids and then on to Panama City about an hour away, arriving in the middle of the night.

			The Panama hospital and doctors were fantastic. They cleaned the wounds, started IV antibiotics, and confirmed by CT scan that there was only minimal bone fracture. I'm swollen into very strange shapes but can sort of walk. Very fortunate all around.

			There were some weird and/or wonderful things that I'll try to write down. Everyone was fabulous, lots of people I don't even know about yet. I had bizarre visual hallucinations on Tues nite when objects were too dark or distant to resolve unambiguously, probably due to no sleep, no food, blood loss, and exhaustion. The ICU is interesting from the patient sides, as is the rescue process, which I won't understand until I can compare notes with the rescuers. In the ICU my heart exhibited and then lost a new but mild electrical problem that was probably unrelated to the accident but was due to my (recently diagnosed) sarcoidosis (this has been an interesting year medically). "

	== Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) ==		== Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) ==

	* 31 Aug, 14:15 PDT (Richard): John is now in a regular room at the hospital and the recovering is going well. He has lots of bruises and walking takes a lot of effort, but it looks like everything is coming along well. There's a phone in the room but I don't know the number; John does have access to his e-mail (they have cool IP phones in the room and the "data port" is an ethernet jack). Best guess is that John will fly back to Atlanta early next week.		* Friday, 31 Aug, 14:15 PDT (Richard): John is now in a regular room at the hospital and the recovering is going well. He has lots of bruises and walking takes a lot of effort, but it looks like everything is coming along well. There's a phone in the room but I don't know the number; John does have access to his e-mail (they have cool IP phones in the room and the "data port" is an ethernet jack). Best guess is that John will fly back to Atlanta early next week.

	* 30 Aug, 13:00 PDT (Mike): Nothing new today, except for a few additional clarifications from Richard on a couple of points in the story:		* Thursday, 30 Aug, 13:00 PDT (Mike): Nothing new today, except for a few additional clarifications from Richard on a couple of points in the story:
	:* It's now confirmed John was never up in a tree. The earlier reports must have been the result of what the helicopter first saw; John must have appeared to be in a tree from their vantage point. He was in a steep ravine.		:* It's now confirmed John was never up in a tree. The earlier reports must have been the result of what the helicopter first saw; John must have appeared to be in a tree from their vantage point. He was in a steep ravine.
	:* In the end, he was driven to the hospital in Panama City and not taken by helicopter as was expected at first. Richard wrote in an email: "''The helicopter story is something of a saga, with many twists and turns. There was a helicopter there in the end (lots of twists and turns before this). They can't fly past 6 pm without permission from the governor. We get the permission. Then it starts to get rainy, so they have to fly to another town, where they will wait for the ambulance. Then we are told that they will be staying in the town and we should use the ambulance the entire way. In the end, there was no helicopter [in the transportation to the hospital] but it is really unclear how it was decided.''"		:* In the end, he was driven to the hospital in Panama City and not taken by helicopter as was expected at first. Richard wrote in an email: "''The helicopter story is something of a saga, with many twists and turns. There was a helicopter there in the end (lots of twists and turns before this). They can't fly past 6 pm without permission from the governor. We get the permission. Then it starts to get rainy, so they have to fly to another town, where they will wait for the ambulance. Then we are told that they will be staying in the town and we should use the ambulance the entire way. In the end, there was no helicopter [in the transportation to the hospital] but it is really unclear how it was decided.''"

	* 29 Aug, 13:00 PDT (Richard): Just got back from the hospital and talking with John. He sounds just like his usual self and had a good lunch. He's still in intensive care (just to be safe, I think), but will probably be moved to a regular room tomorrow. He has pretty big cuts on his arm, the back of his head and his back, but looks and sounds great.		* Wednesday, 29 Aug, 13:00 PDT (Richard): Just got back from the hospital and talking with John. He sounds just like his usual self and had a good lunch. He's still in intensive care (just to be safe, I think), but will probably be moved to a regular room tomorrow. He has pretty big cuts on his arm, the back of his head and his back, but looks and sounds great.

	[[Image:2007-08-29_elvallemtn.jpg\|frame\|Mountain in El Valle that John was climbing on. At the time of this photo, John is on the back side of the hill. The helicopter is on its way up to take a look at the location. Photo taken ~1300 local time, 28 Aug 07.]]		[[Image:2007-08-29_elvallemtn.jpg\|frame\|Mountain in El Valle that John was climbing on. At the time of this photo, John is on the back side of the hill. The helicopter is on its way up to take a look at the location. Photo taken ~1300 local time, 28 Aug 07.]]

Mhucka: /* Current Status (Friday 31 Aug, 14:15 PDT) */

2007-10-09T00:03:43Z

Current Status (Friday 31 Aug, 14:15 PDT)

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:03, 9 October 2007
Line 2:		Line 2:
	This page is intended to provide information about the status of John Doyle, who went missing in the mountains of Panama on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26) approximately 5 PM Panama time (3 PM California/PDT).		This page is intended to provide information about the status of John Doyle, who went missing in the mountains of Panama on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26) approximately 5 PM Panama time (3 PM California/PDT).

	~~== Current Status (Friday 31 Aug, 14:15 PDT) ==~~

	(Richard) John is now in a regular room at the hospital and the recovering is going well. He has lots of bruises and walking takes a lot of effort, but it looks like everything is coming along well. There's a phone in the room but I don't know the number; John does have access to his e-mail (they have cool IP phones in the room and the "data port" is an ethernet jack). Best guess is that John will fly back to Atlanta early next week

	== What Happened ==		== What Happened ==

Mhucka: /* Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) */

2007-10-09T00:03:25Z

Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first)

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:03, 9 October 2007
Line 15:		Line 15:

	== Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) ==		== Past Updates (in reverse order, most recent first) ==

			* 31 Aug, 14:15 PDT (Richard): John is now in a regular room at the hospital and the recovering is going well. He has lots of bruises and walking takes a lot of effort, but it looks like everything is coming along well. There's a phone in the room but I don't know the number; John does have access to his e-mail (they have cool IP phones in the room and the "data port" is an ethernet jack). Best guess is that John will fly back to Atlanta early next week.

	* 30 Aug, 13:00 PDT (Mike): Nothing new today, except for a few additional clarifications from Richard on a couple of points in the story:		* 30 Aug, 13:00 PDT (Mike): Nothing new today, except for a few additional clarifications from Richard on a couple of points in the story:

Murray: John moved to John Doyle's Panamanian Adventure

2007-09-20T16:58:05Z

John moved to John Doyle's Panamanian Adventure

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:58, 20 September 2007
(No difference)