Coast Guard, paramedic help sick man off Brunswick Co. coast

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Crew from Coast Guard Station Oak Island and a Brunswick County paramedic helped a sick man out at sea today.

The Coast Guard got a call from a 25-foot recreational vessel with five people on board at about noon saying a 35-year-old man with heart problems was in and out of consciousness approximately 28 miles southeast of the Cape Fear River entrance.

A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) crew from Station Oak Island launched first. A 29-foot Response Boat-Small (RBS) from Station Oak Island later launched after taking aboard the paramedic.

Both crews arrived alongside the recreational vessel about 15 miles southeast of the Cape Fear River entrance. The Coast Guard MLB crew took aboard the paramedic, the patient and two of his family members. The paramedic provided medical care to the man with help from the Coast Guard on the way back to Southport Marina, where Brunswick County EMS picked him up. He was reported in stable condition.

“When a person almost 30 miles offshore needs critical medical assistance, every moment and every decision going into the response is crucial,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Quenten Lehrschall, MLB operator for the incident. “We’re glad that by coordinating with Brunswick County medical personnel we were able to get this man the care he needed in time.”