A West Manatee Fire Rescue marine rescue crew evacuated a person suffering a stroke Nov. 18 from Margaritaville at Sea’s Islander cruise ship in Tampa Bay.
Capt. Jimmy Leigh told The Islander Dec. 3 that WMFR received word that there was a possible medical emergency on the ship and deployed its marine rescue vessel before the crew learned that the U.S. Coast Guard and first responders in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties were unable to assist with the rescue.
Leigh said they found the ship about eight miles west of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and pulled alongside it so the patient and a family member could be transferred to the rescue vessel.
Following the transfer, the rescue crew confirmed the patient was experiencing a stroke and transported him to the Holmes Beach Boat Ramp on Marina Way, near WMFR’s Station 3.
Manatee County Emergency Medical Services was at the boat ramp and took custody of the patient, who was transported to the HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton.
Leigh said the rescue was unique for the district but handled well.
“That is definitely something outside of our normal operations,” he said. “For something we don’t do — obviously we’ve practiced docking and practiced night runs, but to actually put it all together and perform really without a hitch … it went so smooth for something that was never done by us before other than in practice.”