Danielle Baasch, Dr. Vicente Mejia and Dr. Peter Boehm Jr.
The wife of a caver injured in one of the country's deepest caves near LaFayette, Ga., on Friday met some of the Erlanger Health System team who rescued and treated her husband.
Jill Kempf, wife of 54-year-old Dwight Kempf, said she was amazed that the rescuers were able to get him out so quickly after he fell about 30 feet deep inside Ellison's Cave on Sunday.
"I was expecting 24-36 hours. It was beyond my imagination they could get him out in 20," she said.
Ms. Kempf said her husband is progressing well, though he remains under sedation and with some breathing tubes.
Drs. Vicente Mejia and Dr. Peter Boehm Jr. said he suffered injuries to his head and left leg, but he is on the mend.
Ms. Kempf said the doctors told her that the fact that medics carried antibiotics with them and were able to administer them to him in the cave was a chief factor in his treatment.
The rescue teams also had blood on hand that was given to him in the cave. He suffered extensive blood loss after the fall.
One of his caving companions said they did not know if he had survived the fall since they called out to him and he did not respond.
But Erlanger emergency room nurse Danielle Baasch said he was conscious and talking when she and fellow medic Andrew Voss reached him.
The fall happened about 4 p.m. Sunday, and it was not until around 6:30 p.m. that the fellow cavers were able to negotiate their way out to seek help. Ms. Baasch said she got the page at 6:45 p.m. and was at the scene near the Blue Hole an hour later.
She said there was so much preparation and coordination involved that it was not until 9:15 p.m. that the team entered the cave for the rescue.
Ms. Baasch said she took part in an earlier deep cave rescue, but this was her first time in the fabled Ellison's. She said getting to the injured caver involved going down one steep ascent and up another before reaching "The Fantastic" drop of almost 600 feet.
Led by experienced caver Bill Putnam, she and her fellow medic had reached Mr. Kempf by 11:30 p.m.
It took hours to get him "packaged" and ready for the intricate trip out, including being raised back up The Fantastic. The journey began at 4:40 a.m. Monday, and he saw daylight at 12:30 p.m.
Ms. Kempf said her husband had made several prior excursions to Ellison's Cave.
She said, "They expected to be in and out in 14 hours."
The Kempf family has provided information on donations for Cave and Rescue Teams. Please see our Facebook and Twitter accounts to Share and Retweet.
The Kempf family has provided information on donations for Cave and Rescue Teams. Please see our Facebook and Twitter accounts to Share and Retweet.
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Dwight Kempf on an earlier caving expedition