Ill worker begins two-week voyage from Antarctica to Australian hospital...WTF?

Hmmm......so this guy working in Antarctica is being transported by an ice-breaker for 2 weeks to Australia, yet they won't comment on who he is or what his ailment is.....

Authorities have released no personal details about the man, who is a tradesman. They have not revealed the nature of his medical emergency, other than to describe his condition as "serious but stable."

So....Why can't they say what the nature of his medical emergency is? I may be way off base here, but would that not imply that they don't want to worry anyone about this for some reason?

And who could be that important that they turn a ship around to pick him up and boat him back....imagine the cost of this exercise in fuel alone. This guy must be somebody really important which has me wondering even more.

Here is an excerpt from another article:

A top Australian Antarctic expeditioner who fell ill on the icy continent last week is en route to Hobart aboard the Australian ice-breaker Aurora Australis.

The man, described as a highly skilled tradesman, was flown by helicopter from Davis Station to the icebreaker on Sunday night.

Environment minister Greg Hunt said the journey home could take up to two weeks.

"Back to Hobart, that should take 12 days, maybe 14 depending on conditions but there is a medical expert on board," he said.

"It just reminds us that is takes a lot of courage for these expeditionary to work in Antarctica and it takes a hugely skilled support team."

The Aurora Australis, carrying 114 people, turned around to retrieve the man last week and needed to refuel before heading back to its home port of Hobart.

Mr Hunt said the man was observing glaciers and sea conditions when he became ill.

"This is one of our very best expeditioners," he said.

"All the signs from the medical reports are saying that its stable, but you can never take working in Antarctic operations for granted."

Head of operations at the Australian Antarctic Division described the rescue as a "mammoth effort".

Source

That should get the conspiracy wheels turning at high speed.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
That should get the conspiracy wheels turning at high speed.

That's what I thought as well....and the fact they only describe him as a "highly skilled tradesman" and the last line in the second quote saying it was a "mammoth effort"...just has me really wondering why the secrecy over this.

Were they working on something that naming this guy could potentially open a much larger can of worms.....as in was his trade something that would be completely out of the ordinary to be in Antarctica for?

Well, by the time he gets back, he will probably be either all better or dead. It seems that because of the long time to get back the trip is worthless. Maybe they have better medical stuff on that ship or maybe the person has something contagious and they want him gone. If it is the second case, I hope the people on that ice breaker don't get sick.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Unless you are worried that he may be infected by the Thing.



Then I don't understand your concern as to why they will not release the details of his illness.

As far as the cost goes for saving his life I am wondering if you want a cost-benefit analysis to be done and what your cap would be for saving someone's life?

just a trailer.. But think about what kind of bacteria or viruses could be hiding there in ice...

originally posted by: Vasa Croe
Hmmm......so this guy working in Antarctica is being transported by an ice-breaker for 2 weeks to Australia, yet they won't comment on who he is or what his ailment is.....

Authorities have released no personal details about the man, who is a tradesman. They have not revealed the nature of his medical emergency, other than to describe his condition as "serious but stable."

So....Why can't they say what the nature of his medical emergency is? I may be way off base here, but would that not imply that they don't want to worry anyone about this for some reason?

And who could be that important that they turn a ship around to pick him up and boat him back....imagine the cost of this exercise in fuel alone. This guy must be somebody really important which has me wondering even more.

Here is an excerpt from another article:

A top Australian Antarctic expeditioner who fell ill on the icy continent last week is en route to Hobart aboard the Australian ice-breaker Aurora Australis.

The man, described as a highly skilled tradesman, was flown by helicopter from Davis Station to the icebreaker on Sunday night.

Environment minister Greg Hunt said the journey home could take up to two weeks.

"Back to Hobart, that should take 12 days, maybe 14 depending on conditions but there is a medical expert on board," he said.

"It just reminds us that is takes a lot of courage for these expeditionary to work in Antarctica and it takes a hugely skilled support team."

The Aurora Australis, carrying 114 people, turned around to retrieve the man last week and needed to refuel before heading back to its home port of Hobart.

Mr Hunt said the man was observing glaciers and sea conditions when he became ill.

"This is one of our very best expeditioners," he said.

"All the signs from the medical reports are saying that its stable, but you can never take working in Antarctic operations for granted."

Head of operations at the Australian Antarctic Division described the rescue as a "mammoth effort".

Source

Hopefully it's something mild that they don't want to extreme weather to make worse, but they sure do make you wonder, don't they? I do hope it's not something mysterious that he picked up there something weird that they managed to dig up from the depths of hell kind of thing that should have stayed buried.

originally posted by: Grimpachi
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Unless you are worried that he may be infected by the Thing.

Then I don't understand your concern as to why they will not release the details of his illness.

As far as the cost goes for saving his life I am wondering if you want a cost-benefit analysis to be done and what your cap would be for saving someone's life?

You're talking about a ship over 300 feet long with 114 other passengers on board that had to turn around, refuel, pick this guy up and then head back. I am sure if he was a refuel/maintenance guy at the dock, he would have just had to wait it out in Antarctica....refueling a ship that holds 35,000 cu ft of fuel is long and costly, as would be the helicopter they picked him up in and the extra cost of medical and supplies for the added time on the trip. They had just been there for fuel and were 320 nautical miles from the station when they turned back around to pick this guy up.....

This guy had to be someone VERY special.

As for my concern....they state he was evac'd from the place and that he had an illness, yet they won't release any details on what happened....I would say that is a pretty good reason for my questioning this.

Why wouldn't they just fly him back in a sea plane or helicopter? Quicker and cheaper I would think. Maybe too far for a heli,? But a sea plane should make it?

a reply to: Vasa Croe

The doctor who literally wrote the book on the benefits of running..died of heart attack while running. This could be an ordinary ailment or it could be something lethal to mankind. My guess is it is a serious but very normal medical issue. It is worthy of keeping up on story developments though.

Whatever it is, it doesn't look contagious as the people assisting him were not wearing any protective clothing. It does make you wonder what's exactly wrong with him though.

originally posted by: caterpillage
Why wouldn't they just fly him back in a sea plane or helicopter? Quicker and cheaper I would think. Maybe too far for a heli,? But a sea plane should make it?

The process they went through to get this guy was extraordinary....they turned around from 320 nautical miles away to go back, break through ice, helicopter fuel lines back to the boat, do multiple practice runs for the evac, helicopter the on-board doc to the station to work with the station doc, then helicoptered them back to the boat for the trip back to Australia. They had 114 other people on board this ship, which means it was full....the ship only holds 116.

I think the operation on this coupled with the "gag" on the name/condition of the "top expeditioner" is more than unusual.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Yes, it is costly to evac someone from Antartica and no they have not released the details of his illness to the "world".

You mentioned helicopters, but I don't know of any helicopters with that kind of flight range and even if there are I know there are many heart issues that make flight risky to the patient.

Is it common practice to give out personal medical information about everyone in Antartica to the world or do they still have the right to doctor-patient confidentiality?

a reply to: Vasa Croe

The Australian Antarctic Division website, and the ANARE Club website both prove useless in terms of identifying the unfortunate chap being moved at the moment. I would provide links, but I assure you, they offered me no help in naming the individual. Finding them should not be a problem, if flogging a dead horse is a pastime of yours though!

I wonder who the chap is, and what sort of expertise the fellow has!

originally posted by: caterpillage
Why wouldn't they just fly him back in a sea plane or helicopter? Quicker and cheaper I would think. Maybe too far for a heli,? But a sea plane should make it?

Yea, there are planes that can easily do the trip, if it was that serious they would have done so.
But from the looks of it the ship most likely is in that area a lot or makes trips there to bring supplies. As for his trade, maybe a driller, geologist, fitter? Who knows, but in today's world it's rare to get a professional trades person who is 'highly skilled'.
Most likely a bad flu or infection.

Anyone know what the box the guy in front is carrying? It appears to be hooked up to the patient, so I am guessing it is some type of vitals monitor?

He has probably just broken a bone or had a stroke that prevents him from staying there to recover and requires hospital treatment which cannot be given on Antartica.

Doesn't seem particularly exciting to me, really.

originally posted by: Grimpachi
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Yes, it is costly to evac someone from Antartica and no they have not released the details of his illness to the "world".

You mentioned helicopters, but I don't know of any helicopters with that kind of flight range and even if there are I know there are many heart issues that make flight risky to the patient.

Is it common practice to give out personal medical information about everyone in Antartica to the world or do they still have the right to doctor-patient confidentiality?

Only reason I mentioned helicopters was because they are on the ship and were used to bring in the fuel lines, the on-board doc, and then evac them back to the boat.

I have no idea what common practice is, but if you are not releasing the name of the patient AND not releasing the condition, yes I find that odd. If he is a top expeditioner then he is likely well known, in which case his name would be an odd thing not to release unless he is working on something very secretive in the area. To not release the name and not release the medical problem, especially if something simple like a heart attack or whatever, seems suspicious to me.

Guess you don't feel the same way.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: Vasa Croe

The Australian Antarctic Division website, and the ANARE Club website both prove useless in terms of identifying the unfortunate chap being moved at the moment. I would provide links, but I assure you, they offered me no help in naming the individual. Finding them should not be a problem, if flogging a dead horse is a pastime of yours though!

I wonder who the chap is, and what sort of expertise the fellow has!

Yeah, you can obviously tell from the photos that they were either not allowed to take pics of his face, or that they were told not to put any up.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Hmm, I don't know about you, but the UK sends many scientists the continent every year and I couldn't name a single one of them. You seem to be blowing this way out of proportion.

It is quite common not to tell the world what people's medical conditions are (such as in a report about traffic accidents, or people found dead for example) especially without the consent of the patient or his family (in the case of death, usually not until the result of a medical examination/post mortem).

The poor chap is probably just your average polar scientist doing some average polar science and had a turn for the worst. It is a challenging environment to work in for anyone.