Phantom avy info? 04/06/11

Thanks for the contributions to the story, Doug and Roger.

Hope everyone heals well and quickly.

Sure.  The model I had in my mind is a Kendrick Traction Device, pictured here:



When I first went through OEC training for ski patrol a few years ago, Pete (one of the instructors) had a short piece of PVC with an eye bolt and some shoelace that he carried with him to make a "KTD" in the field, using a ski pole.  I basically recreated it with these supplies:

Stout BD ski pole (one of Dan's, I think)
The cut-off leg loop (with fastex buckle) from Dan's climbing harness
The cut-off aluminum buckle (plus its webbing loop) from the harness
12" sewn 1/2" spectra runner
Three Voile straps (could have gotten by with two)

The pole is sized to fit the leg, plus enough below the foot for the traction (as in the above pic).  Pole is secured to his hip with the cut-off leg loop, buckling it tight around the groin.  Two wraps of the leg loop go around the handle of the pole, to prevent it from slipping.

The sewn runner went over the boot, loosely around the ankle.  One Voile strap went under the arch, connecting each side of the runner and making an ankle hitch (you can see the factory version above).

The loop for the harness buckle was dropped over the tip of the pole.  The two additional Voile straps are connected together and one end is threaded through the buckle.  The other end is looped through the "ankle hitch".  Connect the two ends and tighten it down.

It certainly provided some relief (though I'll let Dan say how much).  Lacking the climbing harness we could have fashioned a groin strap with a cloth cravat, which is what I'd usually use.  The only thing we didn't do was secure the splint fully to the rest of the leg, because I didn't want to reduce his circulation any more than necessary.  The SAR EMTs took care of that when they showed up and put on the actual KTD.

You can just see the bottom of the setup in a picture Dan has, but it's only on Facebook and I can't link it from here.

This image shows the bottom of the splint that Marcus built for Dan.

Thanks Robert -- I just found the IMG address...

Thanks for posting the description and pictures of the splint. If I were a DEA agent and saw that combination of injury and smile I believe I would come knocking at your door.

Seriously... talk about an easy patient. Maybe I should check my first aid kit and make sure I didn't give him something other than Ibuprofen.