Global Rescue member and SCI Vice President Don Detwiler was hunting deer on Kodiak Island, Alaska when his blood pressure spiked. Detwiler immediately suspected he knew what had happened.
“I was taking decongestants and I just knew I had a sinus infection,” he said. “It was pretty bad. I shouldn’t have been taking decongestants because I have high blood pressure.”
After hunting for only one day, Detwiler decided to take a couple of days off, hoping that his blood pressure would return to normal without medical assistance. Despite two days of rest, his blood pressure would not come down. “I didn’t want to call home to get my wife to call our family doctor because I didn’t want her to know what was going on. She would just worry.” Instead, he called Global Rescue.
The Global Rescue operations team advised him to be seen at a hospital immediately. Detwiler was flown by mail plane to a Kodiak hospital where the Global Rescue medical staff oversaw his treatment. As it turned out, Detwiler’s condition was more serious that he thought. “It took about three weeks before my blood pressure went down to where it should have been,” he noted.
Global Rescue stayed in touch with Detwiler, constantly checking in on his progress. “The follow-up from Global Rescue was exceptional. I was impressed. There were multiple follow up phone calls,” said Detwiler.
Detwiler does not intend to let this medical experience dampen his hunting plans, though he states that he will not go anywhere without Global Rescue at his back. “I fully intend to renew my Global Rescue membership because I’m going to Mongolia and will keep it as long as I continue to hunt internationally.”