Deanna Babcock - Thoughts and Prayers
BY: ellasdad on 2007-07-23 9:04 PM

Below is a note from my coach about one of his
triatletes he has been coaching. I know you don't
know this girl, but we are trying to get a ton of
people to send get well cards. If you want to send
one, just sign your name. This would be greatly
appreciated. This girl has been training for FLorida
Ironman and tomorrow morning she may lose her leg.
Read below. Address for cards is at the bottom.
Please send if you can find the time.

Many of you have, in the last 48 hours, been emailing
or calling me with questions about how Deanna
Babcock(age 22), one of my NCSU student athletes and a
shop employee at CSH is doing. On Friday Deanna was
swimming at the NCSU pool, and did not surface. The
lifeguards pulled her out, and revived her. They had
to defibrillate her twice on deck, and from what I
understand, she had to be jump-started three more
times by emergency medical staff later in the day.
Those part-time NCSU kids working as lifeguards really
earned their pay on Friday.

Wake EMS immediately iced Deanna to preserve bodily
and brain function in her oxygen-deprived state. This
in not commonly done by rescue squads, and Wake is
innovate in this technique, but it seems to have saved
her life. Brain scans on Saturday indicate good
things, and the doctors are keeping Deanna in an
induced coma to better control the rate at which they
warm her to room temp, and the rate at which her brain
wakes up and recovers. Her parents are here from
Michigan, and Deanna’s grad student friends, triathlon
teammates, and faculty friends are taking good care of
her visiting parents. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that her slow and positive recovery
was on track, until yesterday when her legs started
swelling. This is not unusual, but the calf swelling
was stopping circulation to her feet. To save her
feet from amputation, the doctors performed emergency
surgery last night to open up the layers of fascia
surrounding her calf muscles. Our muscles are
restrained inside sheaths, kind of like plastic wrap,
to keep them sliding without sticking to each other.
Her calves were swelling and were restrained by the
sheaths, and this was pinching the blood vessels.
Deanna’s calves are actually open and exposed right
now to let the muscle expand, and the let the blood
regain circulation. She survived the surgery. But,
the doctors, upon seeing the actual calf muscle, feel
that it has deteriorated from lack of circulation, and
they fear her leg will not recover. Tomorrow morning
the doctors are going to make a decision if her leg is
recovering, and if its recovery is impeding her total
body and brain recovery from the near drowning. They
told us last night that they will amputate her leg
above the knee if she doesn’t improve by Tuesday
morning.

One of her doctors is an ultra distance cyclist, and
we have talked at length about how this happened in
the first place – why did Deanna all of a sudden
collapse while swimming. What we are able to piece
together about her day leading up to the swim session
is that she had worked outside all day on a grad
student project on a construction site (Deanna is
researching ways to help DOT preserve soil embankments
from collapsing, and she spent all day in the heat and
humidity hand seeding and stabilizing a large soil
bank in the widening project on Davis Drive.) Then,
in what we think was a very dehydrated, exhausted, and
most like glycogen-depleted state, she opted to swim
instead of bagging the workout. We are, at this
point, thinking that Deanna bonked while dehydrated,
while exhausted, while swimming.

My point to all this is for you to please maintain
hydration and nutrition levels in hot weather. If you
are tired – bag the workout, and do it later after
resting or just call it a day. If the objective to
cross the finish line at a race, then you need to be
alive more than you need to be trained.

Deanna was training for the Duke Half Iron, and for
Ironman Florida. Last night, as I looked at Deanna’s
mom’s wrist, where she is wearing Deanna’s Ironman
watch, her mom told me that Deanna is in fact racing
an Ironman right now, and did in fact survive the
swim, but just needs to get across the finish line.
Please keep Deanna and her family in your thoughts and
prayers right now – this kid really needs all the help
she can get.

Deanna Babcock
Critical Care Unit
Wake Medical Center
3000 New Burn Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27610
-----
The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.
-- H. G. Wells
The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain.
karl marx

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: KathyG on 2007-07-23 9:12 PM

Thanks for sharing this story...we all need to keep her in our thoughts and prayers and send cards.

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Dream Big, Train Consistently, Find joy in the journey

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: Tri3 on 2007-07-23 9:30 PM

I'd like to send a card. Just let me know what to do. Thanks.
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"But you know, what's the point of doing things if you don't keep challenging yourself? Resting on your laurels leads to... well, smashed laurels I guess." -Ben Heck (www.benheck.com)
Nathan

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: Nette213 on 2007-07-23 10:19 PM

My card will be in the mail tomorrow morning.  I will keep Deanna and her family in my thoughts.  Please keep us posted to her condition.

Jeanette

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Make it matter!

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: Gina76 on 2007-07-23 10:49 PM

Deanna and her family are in my thoughts and prayers!

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: TriAya on 2007-07-23 11:13 PM

Done. Thanks for posting this opp. to support a fellow triathlete and her family in need.

-----
Coach Y Tri Multisport
~ Ironman(R) Certified Coach, Founding Member
~ World Open Water Swimming Association Coach & Official
~ Triathlon Australia Professional Development Coach
~ American Swimming Coaches Association

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: tri-umph on 2007-07-23 11:26 PM

I'll keep her and her family in my prayers. Won't it be awesome if later down the road we can all read about her remarkable recovery and completion of IMFL?!
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Remember that a kick in the ass is a step forward!

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: Shermbelle on 2007-07-24 12:25 AM

Thanks for posting, will keep her in my prayers!!
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I'm caught up in a dream, I'm goin to wish for it all. No one's gonna tell me how, cause this is my dream now. I'm caught up in what seems simply impossible, I ain't gonna change a thing, no way this is my dream.- Tesla

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: mazdageek on 2007-07-24 12:35 AM

I wish her a full and speedy recovery. Situations like this make my problems seem silly.
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It's not the age, it's the milage!

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: ventinc on 2007-07-24 12:58 AM

Done. Thank you for posting this story. Sound like she is in good hands with doctors too.
Prayers and well wishes to Deanna and her family.

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: Bripod on 2007-07-24 1:13 AM

Thank you for posting this. I had never heard of anyone bonking during a swim but the risk of it and the reality is definitely there and this reminds me to be conscious of that.

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: ellasdad on 2007-07-24 8:13 AM

thanks guys... i'll keep everyone in the loop... i've got cards coming to her from all over... i just want her to know she's not alone...

-----
The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.
-- H. G. Wells
The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain.
karl marx

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: tupuppy on 2007-07-24 9:21 AM

Prayers and good vibes on the way.

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"Quit trying to get your mind around it... instead get your body out and doing it and your mind will follow." - Akustix

"You will never rise above the words that come out of your mouth" - Rogillio

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: enders_shadow on 2007-07-24 9:31 AM

Thank you for sharing this - prayers and card sent.

Kristen

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: tri_sport19 on 2007-07-24 9:32 AM

Wow, what a story. Thank you for posting this, let's do our best as a triathlon family to keep Deanna in our thoughts and prayers. My card went out this morning and I'll be circulating one through my team beginning this afternoon. Give Deanna all the best from NY.
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"The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a good day to die." - Prefontaine

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: uonthebeach on 2007-07-24 9:51 AM

She shall be in my prayers!

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: jashac on 2007-07-24 12:45 PM

Praying for Doctors, that they might have sure hands, and make good decisions, for Deanna for strength, and for her family that they will have faith.
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No Excuses!
Jasha

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: barqhead on 2007-07-24 1:24 PM

Prayers sent. FWIW, I have seen someone bonk during a swim workout. It's a very sudden event. This particular swimmer was doing laps over his lunch hour and started swimming erraticaly, bumping into the lane lines. He stopped at the deep end of the pool, got out of the water and then promptly hit the deck because he passed out. Talking to him, when he woke up, he said he wanted to swim and was going to eat lunch after his workouts. He didn't eat any breakfast that morning. He also hadn't drank anything but coffee so far during the day. Nutrition and hydration! It is a must! I am praying that Deanna makes a full recovery. Scary stuuf.

Pam
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Weight Tracker
Start #### Current#### Goal
165.4 ....... 156.8....... 145

RE: need some thoughts and prayers
BY: Graycat on 2007-07-24 1:25 PM

damn!

Prayers, good karma and thoughts heading her way.

Keep us updated please.