Rum Runner's Cove, a site just east of Wetmore Landing that was once used for smuggling during prohibition, is popular among NMU students who enjoy cliff jumping from its large rock into Lake Superior. But when a group of friends was there in late August and one fell from the slick surface and injured herself on a boulder below before tumbling into the water, nursing major Cara Hartley of Bloomfield Township was quick to assess the situation and provide help.
Because of the way the student slipped, she did not get enough distance from the rock and slid down the face before striking the boulder, Hartley said. When she asked if her friend was okay and the response was a “No” mixed with crying, Hartley jumped in and swam over to her.
“She couldn't really kick with her leg at all and she was pretty scratched up. I wanted to get her to shore to see what happened,” said Hartley, who was trained in water rescue as a rafting guide in Montana. “She was in a lot of pain, bleeding and a little hysterical, likely from shock. She immediately had a bruise on her hip.
"Another friend happened to get a video, so we watched it to make sure she didn't hit her head. Thankfully she didn't and was completely alert, so I was pretty certain it wasn't life-threatening. But I did want to get her back as soon as possible, because she hit her pelvis and bleeding could happen in that general area. Overall, she handled everything very well.”
With no cell reception, Hartley and two other friends in her group faced a choice: have one person run back to the car and travel on Highway 550 toward Marquette to get within signal range and call an ambulance to come pick up their injured friend; or somehow carry her back to the car and drive her to the ER themselves.
They made a quick decision to execute the latter option, in part because Hartley is wilderness first-aid certified and had been trained on different types of carrying techniques to transport people. One student was designated to carry all the gear; she was loaded up like a coat rack, Hartley said.
“My other friend and I tried a chair carry first, locking our arms underneath her legs and holding her back up,” she explained. “But the trail out of there is super rocky and narrow. Navigating up and over bumps while not straining our own backs was super difficult. Then we tried a stabilizing walk, acting like human crutches for her, but she couldn't put any weight on her leg and I didn't want to exacerbate any injuries. I ended up throwing her on my back and we tried a couple of different positions with that, but she didn't feel stable, so I just gave her a piggyback ride, keeping her stable with my arms.”
They placed their injured friend in the back seat of the car and all four friends—in soaking-wet bathing suits—headed to the ER. Hartley got dropped off briefly to pick up dry clothes for the injured student and to call her boyfriend with the news.
“We were at the ER for about two hours and took off when her partner came and filled in,” Hartley said. “They did an X-ray and didn't find anything. Then they did a CT scan and she actually had a fractured sacrum—the triangular bone at the base of the spine that connects it to the pelvis. She's been on crutches since, but she was very thankful we were with her as opposed to being alone or with someone who wouldn't have had the strength to carry her.
“I honestly felt very level-headed through the whole thing. It wasn't a case of me deciding to take the lead; it was more that I felt I knew what to do. It just felt natural. Her condition wasn't a serious emergency, yet I knew we needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. We tried dividing the weight among more than one person, but it was easiest with the challenging terrain for me to take the full load and carry her out. I'm just grateful I was able to do that.”
With Lake Superior in such close proximity to campus, Northern makes a deliberate effort to raise awareness about water safety, particularly for the benefit of incoming students at the beginning of the fall semester. They are advised to respect the unpredictably powerful force of waves in windy conditions and provided with tips on how to effectively deal with rip currents. Navigating slippery rocks also warrants caution. Hartley offered her own advice based on her friend's incident:
“She had some trepidation about jumping from the rock, so I guess I would say trust your body. If you're nervous or frightened about doing something like that, maybe think twice and don't do it because it's not worth the risk. And always let someone know where you're going and when you plan to return. If you're going somewhere without reception, consider bringing someone else along who's strong enough to help if you need it.”
Hartley not only possessed the physical strength required to assist her friend, but also knowledge gleaned from her nursing education and specialized training in water rescues and wilderness first-aid.
