HEALTHCARE
LOST AT SEA
Shipwreck survivor finds closure 30 years after rescue .
BY MICHELLE BRUBAKER
THE RETURN Former patient JanLaree De Julius ( right ) reconnects with caregivers at UC San Diego Medical Center-Hillcrest , where she received treatment 30 years ago after being lost at sea .
WHEN JANLAREE DE JULIUS walked onto the helipad atop UC San Diego Medical Center-Hillcrest this past May , memories and emotions came flooding back to her . More than 30 years earlier , she had landed at the same exact spot , dehydrated , bruised and battered after nearly three days adrift in the open ocean , 160 miles off the coast .
It was January 1988 , and she and her then-husband , Joseph , were sailing a 42-foot trimaran from Mexico to California when 70-mile-per-hour winds and 40-foot waves capsized their boat , leaving them floating in the ocean for a total of 66 hours .
“ We had no food or water . We hung on to the boat and talked about family and friends ,” said De Julius . “ When Joseph started to hear music and voices , I got really nervous .”
After the storm subsided , the couple was finally able to use their emergency radio to transmit an SOS and alert rescue crews . “ I just wanted out of my ‘ Gumby ’ suit ,” said De Julius , referring to the bright orange immersion survival suit that certainly saved their lives . “ It stank to high heaven . I had been in it for three days .”
De Julius ’ injuries were minor , while her husband ’ s were more serious , with complications due to hypothermia . His core temperature had dropped to 81 degrees and his organs were shutting down . But both fully recovered after their stay in UC San Diego Health ’ s Level 1 trauma center , the first-ever in the region .
“ Our trauma center has grown considerably in volume since the time when JanLaree and Joseph were patients ,” said Jay Doucet , MD , chief of the Division of Trauma , Surgical Critical Care , Burns and Acute Care Surgery at UC San Diego Health . “ When we opened in 1984 , we treated approximately 650 trauma patients annually ; now we treat more than 3,000 .”
The pair arrived at UC San Diego Medical Center with no identification , clothing or money . “ All of our possessions were still floating off the coast of San Diego ,” said De Julius . “ But at discharge , one of the nurses gave me clothes , another arranged for lodging and one nurse even loaned me her car so I could get cash and a new ID .”
Those acts of compassion motivated De Julius to return to UC San Diego Medical Center three decades later to revisit her medical team and tour the hospital .
“ When we opened in 1984 , we treated approximately 650 trauma patients annually ; now we treat more than 3,000 .”
— JAY DOUCET , MD , CHIEF OF THE DIVISION OF TRAUMA , SURGICAL CRITICAL CARE , BURNS AND ACUTE CARE SURGERY , UC SAN DIEGO HEALTH
“ It means the world to have former patients visit and for us to see them healthy and happy ,” said Sandy Petty , RN , senior intensive care and trauma nurse at UC San Diego Health .
“ I could see the rooftop of the San Diego Coast Guard Station off to the west while standing on the helipad , and I started crying ,” De Julius said . “ They weren ’ t sad tears . It was a much-needed release .”
De Julius also said she still sails when the opportunity presents itself . “ Except now ,” she says , “ I stay close to shore .”
Learn more about De Julius ' s experience : tritonmag . com / castaway
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