Berkeley Professor Thanks Harbor Masters for Saving His Life

Back in early June, Alex Becker of Moss Beach fell into the water as he was casting his boat off from the fuel deck. The Professor Emeritus of Geoengineering at UC Berkeley slowly regained consciousness after CPR from two fishermen, Bob Rathborne and Ron Iverson.

Becker insisted that he be taken home, showing signs of normalcy except for an extremely weak pulse rate of 20 beats/min. 

Deputies Cary Smith and Jacob Walding refused, relying on their medical knowledge to determine that his condition was unstable. 

"Were I allowed to [go home], I would have died," Becker said. 

At the hospital, Becker suffered many serious medical problems and underwent cardiac arrest. A cardiologist inserted a permanent pacemaker into the patient and spent one day in the ICU, Intensive Care Unit. After a short stay in the TCU, transitional care unit, Becker was returned home to his family. 

"The medically competent opinions of the harbor patrol saved my life and I now ask that they be commended for their knowledge and actions," Becker said.  

"I might add that I went fishing again eight days after the dockside incident."