State Lifeguard Championship

Earlier in the summer, Seth was on a lifeguard team that competed and won the regional lifeguard competition.  The top 3 teams from each region advanced to the state competition. Last Monday was the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation State Lifeguard Championship.  This is the first time a team from Jason's pool has competed in the state competition.  Being the only team from a small town (and a small facility), they were by far the underdogs.  Competition was fierce, with several teams that have been to state before and many that come from year-round facilities with hundreds of guards.  Also, if you remember, this team not only has a member with type 1 diabetes, but also a team captain that had a liver transplant 3 years ago.

Each team had 4 events to complete.  The first event was a spinal scenario.  The guards not only had to respond to a spinal injury (fake, of course) but they also had to address rule violations in and around the pool as well.

The next event was a big pool scenario.  There were several incidents the guards had to respond to: an active drowning, a baby in the pool, an unconscious person, and a "shadow baby."

The final part was actually 2 events: first aid and CPR.  The first aid event was crazy!  There were 3 victims.  The first was a baby (doll) that was unconscious, so it only needed to be monitored until EMS arrived.  Victim 2 had heat exhaustion, a bee sting, a broken ankle, asthma, and a seizure. Victim 3 had a gash on the knee, a bloody nose, diabetes (hypoglycemia), and was spitting out teeth.  It was brutal!

The CPR event was immediately after first aid, in the same location.  The mannequin was lying beside what looked like broken glass, with a giant insect on its chest, and a bottle of bleach and an electric cord on the other side.  All hazards had to be dealt with before CPR could begin.  Intense!

After all teams completed the events, scores were tallied and winners announced.  Seth's team didn't place in the top 3, but they weren't last either! They placed 9th, which was so amazing considering it was their first time.

Diabetes did not play incredibly nice, of course.  Seth woke up over 200, and then there was the breakfast spike.  I'm sure he didn't feel his best, but he never complained and he didn't allow it to affect his performance in the events.  He did a conservative correction, knowing it was probably adrenaline. He still crashed on the way home.  I watched Dex while he napped, and woke him up when he was below 70 with diagonal down.

I am so proud of this team!  They worked hard and did a great job.  Watch out for them next year, Georgetown and The Woodlands!  This team may knock you down in the rankings!