Emergency!

Somehow you know that someday there will be an emergency, and you hope that the training and skills of your crew come through.

On a recent afternoon cruise a passenger began feeling ill. At first she and her family thought it was a little low blood sugar combined with the hot weather. She seemed to perk up and ate dinner, and even told me stories of her childhood. When I stopped by their table later to see how she was feeling I was shocked at how ill she looked. I asked Kathy Eikenberg (of Marquis Downs Catering) to evaluate the guest. (Kathy is also a nurse!) I could read Kathy's concern in her facial expression. She looked up and asked, "How far are we from the pier?" I mouthed "ambulance" to Kathy and received a nod in return.

I went directly to the wheelhouse and told our captains and crew that we had a medical emergency and needed to return to our pier as quickly as possible. Captain Bill was at the wheel and immediately said, "I can be there in 10 minutes." Capt. Tom was reaching for the radio to call the U.S.C.G. but we figured it would be quicker to call 911 since we were only 10 minutes out. I called 911 and everything went smoothly after I convinced the 911 operator that we were on a boat and did not HAVE a house number to give him! Just as we docked the boat at the Hutchins Park pier, we heard and saw the ambulance coming down Congress Ave. right towards the Lantern Queen.

I went back downstairs to the dining room to check on the situation. Nurse Kathy was still working with the patient and her family, keeping the patient alert and the family as calm as possible. But it was caterer Tom Eikenberg (Kathy's husband) who got my attention. Tom was busy entertaining the rest of the passengers in the dining room with stand up comedy - one joke after another. (Everyone's talents came into play that day!)

As we docked, Lantern Queen owner Carroll Fitzgerald made an announcement telling our passengers that an ambulance was meeting the boat due to a medical emergency and we'd appreciate them just waiting until the sick passenger was taken off before they disembarked.

In just a few minutes the EMTs brought the gurney up the gangway and loaded our passenger into the ambulance for the short, 3 block trip to the Harford Memorial Hospital E.R.

Lantern Queen passengers are the BEST! Everyone was patient and considerate! Several passengers quietly told me that they were praying for our ailing guest.

I wish I had a video of the wheelhouse activity during this situation. From the moment I announced that we had a medical emergency there was an air of calm determination. No one really talked except for me - still on the phone with the 911 operator, and Capt. Bill occasionally announcing, "10 minutes, 8 minutes, 5 minutes" to help me communicate our position to the 911 operator (who still didn't quite understand the whole boat thing!)

The next day I happened to be chatting with Susquehanna Hose Co. Capt. Bill Reeder, who assured me that if we'd been farther away from our pier, the hose company's fire & rescue boat would have met us and evacuated the passenger. The same is true for Water Witch and Perryville fire companies too. We are extremely fortunate to have pros like the folks from all our local fire and ambulance corps!

I am proud to share this story with you because it underscores the high level of skill and competency of the Lantern Queen crew.