Jul 26 2011 10:23 AM
...bring my awesome nephew Sam..!
 Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Conn. teen helped his friends as grizzly bear attacked them in Alaska By Bonnie Adler, Special to the Register WESTPORT — A 16-year-old Staples High School student is being hailed as a hero for helping his friends who were attacked by a grizzly bear in the Alaskan wilderness over the weekend. Sam Boas’ training in an EMS program helped save two of the injured teens, his mother, Carol Boas, said in a telephone interview Monday from her home with the Minuteman. Seven teens were participating in an outdoor skills survival course when the attack occurred. Two suffered life-threatening injuries. Right away, Boas administered emergency first aid as the group awaited rescue in the Talkeetna Mountains, near the town of Chultina, 120 miles north of Anchorage. “Sam helped to save the two boys because of what he learned at the EMS program in Westport,” Carol Boas said in the interview with the Minuteman, a sister paper of the New Haven Register. One of the teens suffered massive trauma to the upper torso, and the other had bites and claw punctures. “There was a lot of blood,” said Carol Boas, who is also trained in emergency medical techniques and is an EMS volunteer. The teens were climbing single file on a ridge near a river when they encountered the bear and a cub. “The boys shouted and hollered and did what they had been taught to do to scare the bears so they would run away, but the mother bear attacked anyway,” said Carol Boas. The bear lunged at the first two teens in the line, and they sustained the worst injuries. Two other teens were less seriously hurt. Carol Boas said Sam had told her over the phone from Anchorage that the bear was coming for him, but for some reason turned away. “He said he was able to see the bear’s eyes and thought the bear was frightened.” After the attack, the teens set up a tent along a riverbank. They sent for help via a radio beacon, which alerted authorities of their location and that they were in danger, but they had to wait six hours for help. The teens were participating in a 30-day course offered by the National Outdoor Leadership School, of Palmer, Alaska. The program has been in existence 40 years. They were unaccompanied by an adult leader because they were in the final stage of the program, in which they were to fend for themselves in the wilderness, using their new skills. They were to live in the wilderness for five days on their own, carrying equipment, setting up tents and cooking. As the teens waited for help, Sam administered medical care to the wounded, including bandaging the two most seriously injured. According to Carol Boas, the rescue took hours because the location was so remote. The Rescue Coordination Center operated by the Alaska Air National Guard called troopers around 9:30 p.m. to report the activated signal. A trooper and pilot in a helicopter located the teens. The first helicopter arrived shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday. They decided the two most seriously injured would need a medical transport aircraft. The trooper and Sam stayed with the badly injured teens for four hours until more rescuers arrived in a specially equipped helicopter, state trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said. According to Carol Boas, Sam said it was a miserable situation, with cold and rain and fear pervading the atmosphere. “Sam told me, ‘I was scared. I kept hoping I did the right thing to save them.’” Both Carol and her husband, Andy Boas, said the town EMS program provided Sam with the medical skills to help the injured teens. “This program is so good, they teach you things you think you will never, ever use. But you do,” said Carol Boas, adding that one of the teens had a chest wound that Sam treated by using a garbage bag as a makeshift bandage. Sam has had other experiences dealing with rugged living conditions, said his mother. He is a member of Builders Beyond Borders, which sends many town students to underdeveloped locations worldwide to help with construction projects for essential facilities. “He’s not a thrill seeker, but he is a person who likes to know how to manage in all kinds of living conditions. He went on this program with the National Outdoor Leadership School because he loves the outdoors. He loves hiking and camping and learning about the great outdoors and he wanted to see Alaska.” Since the attack, Sam and the other teens have been swamped with attention from national media, such as “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show.” The two most seriously injured are Joshua Berg, 17, of New York, N.Y.; and Samuel Gottsegen, 17, of Denver. Berg was in serious condition Monday, and Gottsegen was upgraded to good from serious, a spokeswoman at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage said. Victor Martin, 18, of Richmond, Calif., was treated for a bite wound above his ankle and released, and Noah Allaire, 16, of Albuquerque, was listed in good condition. The bear thrashed his head and back and slightly punctured a lung. The other teens on the trip were Shane Garlock, 16, of Pittsford, N.Y.; and Simeon Melman, 17, of Huntington, N.Y. The Associated Press contributed to this story. |