HANAPEPE — At the initial meeting of Roland Van Allen and Kaua’i Fire Department Water Safety Officers Dave Duncan and Kainoa Numazawa at Salt Pond Beach Park here Sunday, Jan. 18, Van Allen didn’t have much to say. At that
HANAPEPE — At the initial meeting of Roland Van Allen and Kaua’i Fire Department Water Safety Officers Dave Duncan and Kainoa Numazawa at Salt Pond Beach Park here Sunday, Jan. 18, Van Allen didn’t have much to say.
At that meeting, the 83-year-old was unconscious, not breathing, and had no pulse.
But amazingly, less than two weeks after being brought back to life after nearly drowning, Van Allen walked up to the tower and re-introduced himself to Duncan and Numazawa yesterday, and expressed his appreciation for their life-saving work.
“I’m not feeling particularly strong, but normal,” he said.
The retired electrical engineer from Annapolis, Md., and his wife, Anne, said they also wanted to express their gratitude for a great number of Kaua’i residents who have been unbelievably helpful to them in this perilous time.
“This is a way for us to convey our appreciation and thanks,” said Roland Van Allen, the day before he met the lifeguards, this time standing.
At the emotional reunion by the Salt Pond lifeguard tower yesterday, Duncan and Numazawa tried to downplay their roles in the successful resuscitation.
Duncan went as far to give the credit to three bystanders who alerted lifeguards, called emergency services, and started rescue breathing.
“Bill Bukoski, he is the real hero,” he said.
Along with his wife, Bukoski helped pull Van Allen out of the water and began rescue breathing. Stanley Dotario made the emergency call to 911, and Jacob Chow raced down the beach on his all-terrain vehicle to alert the two lifeguards and give one of them a fast ride to the scene, which was 200 yards from the tower towards Burns Field.
“The community was empowered. They recognized the emergency and took action. They responded,” said Duncan.
But even though the two tried to downplay their significance, they knew that this conversation was special.
Water safety officers, because of privacy laws, rarely get the chance to hear how victims are doing after they are whisked from the scene in ambulances.
“It’s phenomenal. It just doesn’t happen,” said Duncan.
He didn’t even suffer broken ribs, which are usually a casualty when cardiopulmonary resuscitation occurs.
“They brought me around with no stress on my body,” Van Allen said. “The only stress was what I put on it myself.”
While Van Allen is still recovering from his near-death experience and has to use an oxygen tank on occasion due to lung damage from the salt water, he is recovering quickly enough to go home today.
But before he went, he sat down with TGI and rattled off names who helped them beyond their expectations.
“It all started so innocently,” said Mrs. Van Allen. “It was just an innocent thing.”
Mr. Van Allen, an experienced snorkeler since the 1950s, was in two feet of water when he toppled over and couldn’t regain his bearings.
“I lost my heels and I couldn’t find up from down,” he said.
Mrs. Van Allen, who was standing right next to him, saw his snorkel was submerged, and called for help.
That’s when the graciousness of Kaua’i’s people took over, they said.
He was pulled from the water not breathing and with no pulse, and after about a minute and a half of CPR Van Allen came back to life. Within 20 minutes, he was awake again.
But, they said, the Kaua’i aloha did not end there.
He was first transported to Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital at the West Kauai Medical Center in Waimea, where someone they only know as Jeff, they said, was especially helpful.
“I thought I was recovered when woke up,” said Van Allen, but it was a long road through the hospitals from there.
He was transported to the Intensive Care Unit at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where he spent most of his vacation.
When his wife mentioned the staff at Wilcox, his eyes just lit up.
“Oh man! They have the best crew at Wilcox,” he said. “The ICU was just too remarkable. The nurses exceeded every expectation.”
They also wanted to thank Dr. Tad Jackson, who not only dispensed medical advice and secured Van Allen’s requirements for his trip home, but also gave the couple some restaurant choices as well.
“He is just a wonderful man,” said Mrs. Van Allen. ” He was so kind and compassionate.”
“There are a lot of wonderful people on this island,” said Mr. Van Allen. “The more places you go and the longer you stay, the more you meet.”
Staff Writer Tom Finnegan may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mailto:tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.
