Doctor Reacts To Deadliest Catch Injuries
Doctor Reacts To Deadliest Catch Injuries
I’ve handled medical emergencies in the air…
but never at sea.
So what really happens
when things go wrong
on Deadliest Catch?
Let’s begin.
228 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor.
While setting gear,
a rogue wave slams
the Patricia Lee
from the starboard stern.
One wrong step…
and you’re gone.
Pulled straight into the ocean.
No rescue.
No second chance.
The ship itself
is barely holding together.
Then it happens.
A 2,000-pound anchor pot
launches out of the ramp—
and crushes
29-year-old deckhand
Francis Katungin
against the stack.
Oh my God.
He’s pinned.
Pulse present.
Broken hip.
They know instantly.
The force.
The angle.
The mechanism.
This isn’t just a fracture.
It’s likely the femoral neck.
Maybe worse.
Every time the boat rolls,
he screams.
Hip fractures
are brutally painful.
Morphine
can’t come fast enough.
But pain
isn’t the real killer.
Internal bleeding is.
Blood can pool silently
inside the abdomen…
behind the organs…
inside the chest.
No blood on deck.
But liters lost.
Enough to stop a heart.
Three hours pass.
No room for error.
A femur fracture
can release fat into the bloodstream—
a fat embolism.
Straight to the lungs.
Sudden death.
Vitals matter.
Pulse.
Oxygen.
Skin color.
Stable now…
but this kind of injury
can collapse
without warning.
Then the Coast Guard arrives.
39-knot winds.
The MH-60 Jayhawk
battling the storm.
They have
20 minutes.
That’s it.
Lower the swimmer.
Secure the patient.
Winch them both back up.
Every movement
is agony.
Don’t sleep.
Stay awake.
Stay alive.
This is medical rescue
at its absolute limit.
One slip.
One wave.
One mistake.
And the Bering Sea
claims another life.
FINGER CRUSH – CRAB POT
Then it happens again.
A slip.
A scream.
42-year-old deck boss
Mike Vanderveldt
goes down.
His finger
caught between
an 800-pound crab pot
and the launcher.
That’s not a cut.
That’s a crush.
The fingertip
is gone.
Not sliced.
Not clean.
Destroyed.
There’s no reattaching that.
Out here,
the goal isn’t saving the finger.
It’s stopping the bleed.
Saline.
Pressure.
More pressure.
Ten minutes minimum.
Don’t peek.
Don’t release.
And whatever you do—
don’t put the finger
directly on ice.
Wrap it.
Then cool it.
Ice contact
kills tissue.
Dirty wound.
Rust.
Seawater.
Infection is the real threat.
Bone infection.
Joint infection.
IV antibiotics
if it spreads.
LEG CRUSH – SPIRAL FRACTURE
Another hit.
This one’s worse.
A 1,000-pound steel pot
comes down
on Cody Rhodes’ leg.
Twist.
Torque.
Snap.
A spiral fracture.
Tibia.
Fibula.
Both bones broken.
That kind of break
doesn’t come from bad luck.
It comes from
massive force.
High weight.
High velocity.
This isn’t splints and hope.
This is surgery.
Open reduction.
Internal fixation.
Metal hardware.
Because bones only heal
if you put them back together.
FACE IMPACT – BROKEN NOSE
Another wave.
Another mistake.
A pot swings.
Cracks him
right in the face.
That nose?
Not straight.
That’s a fracture.
But the danger
isn’t the break.
It’s the blood.
A septal hematoma
can destroy cartilage
from the inside out.
Miss it…
and the nose collapses.
Add rust.
Add seawater.
Tetanus becomes a concern.
Ten years out?
That’s not good enough.
COLLAPSE ON DECK – STROKE VS HEART ATTACK
Then someone just…
drops.
Face-first.
Doesn’t move.
This isn’t a “you okay?”
This is check breathing.
Check pulse.
Start compressions
if you don’t find one.
Left-side numbness.
Slurred words.
Confusion.
That’s not nothing.
That’s BE-FAST.
Stroke warning signs.
They reach for aspirin.
Nitroglycerin.
But here’s the problem—
If this is a hemorrhagic stroke…
aspirin
makes it worse.
Much worse.
Blood pressure:
150 over 120.
That lower number?
Dangerous.
This isn’t a mini event.
This is a real stroke.
And every minute
without treatment
kills brain tissue.
FISH GRINDER – HAND INJURY
Later…
A glove
gets pulled in.
So does the hand.
This isn’t a finger injury.
This is a grinder.
There’s nothing clean to repair.
No edges to sew.
The only question now—
How much can be saved?
X-rays tell the truth.
Bone loss.
Crushed tissue.
Some digits
won’t make it.
TOENAIL AVULSION – PRESSURE RELIEF
A “small” injury.
But anyone who’s had it
knows better.
Blood trapped
under the nail.
Pressure building.
Throbbing.
Heat the metal.
Burn a hole.
Release the pressure.
Instant relief.
But pus?
That’s different.
That’s infection.
Now antibiotics matter.
ABSCESS / INFECTED FOLLICLE
Then comes the swelling.
An ingrown hair
turned abscess.
This isn’t solved with pills.
It’s solved with a blade.
Incision.
Drainage.
Let it out.
Keep it open.
Keep it draining.
Warm compresses.
Watch for spreading redness.
That’s cellulitis.
And that’s dangerous.
Out here…
Every injury
is amplified.
Distance.
Weather.
Steel.
Fatigue.
The ocean doesn’t care
how tough you are.
One mistake…
and it takes
what it wants.
