Deaf hiker rescued; UK Deaf woman advocates for better emergency services
Deaf hiker rescued in California
Here are two Deaf News briefs.
CBS News reported that a deaf hiker that was stranded in the Angeles National Forest in California was rescued after being lost for more than a day.
CBS did not identify the man but said he was 50 years old. He was originally with a group that was hiking but he got separated from them. CBS said he fell from a trail and was injured.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said they got a call requesting help to find the man. A search and rescue group went to the mountains. They said it was very steep terrain with snow and ice.
The search crew had a trained rescue dog named Deputy Olive with them. Around midnight on Tuesday, the dog spotted some movement about 500 feet off a trail.
A deputy named Joe Palomino said he listened for a bit and could hear grunting. They found the deaf man clinging to a tree.
An image shows the man holding a tree and the back of his head is blurred, possibly to cover up injuries.
The deputy said they communicated by exchanging thumbs-up gestures. The deaf man was airlifted to a hospital and CBS said he is expected to be OK.
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UK Deaf woman shares tragic story to advocate for better emergency services
The second Deaf News brief is a report from BBC about a Deaf woman in England who is speaking out for first responders to be better prepared to communicate with deaf people after a traumatic experience she had when her husband died from a heart attack in June.
The woman’s name is Elizabeth Corbett. The article explained that she was at work at a Deaf school when she got a video call from her children, ages 9 and 11, that her husband and their father, David, had collapsed after mowing grass.
Elizabeth told her children to call for an ambulance and then got a ride to go to her home. When she arrived, she saw her children outside and crying. She was blocked from entering the house. Elizabeth said she couldn’t communicate with paramedics and police because they were wearing face masks. They removed the masks, but she couldn’t lipread. She called her workplace on FaceTime and a hearing colleague helped with interpreting. She then found out that her husband had passed away.
Elizabeth is using this experience to push for changes in emergency services, for them to have sign language training and fully charged iPads that can connect to interpreters.
BBC said the director of the local emergency services provider said they are “deeply sorry for the poor experience (the family) had with our service. The director said they are working with a deaf organization to discuss how they can improve their services.
David worked at Toyota for almost 30 years. Another news report said he worked in the paint department and was the company’s first deaf employee. He was 51 when he passed away.
Elizabeth is now trying to fundraise 60,000 British pounds for the Royal School for the Deaf Derby, where she works and where David attended when he was a teenager. The money would be used to buy a vehicle so children can go on trips.
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/deaf-hiker-rescued-from-angeles-national-forest-airlift/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-65138991
https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/real-life/gallery/deaf-mum-told-husband-died-8310146
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/davids-minibus-appeal-for-rsdd