As some of you may know, I suffered decompression sickness that left me with permanent neurological injuries back in 2018. At the time, I was living seasonally in the 1,000 Islands region of New York and I would make several dives in the Brockville, Ontario, area every week.
Last summer, I returned to freediving and ventured back to the St. Lawrence River. I did not have a valid passport, nor a good excuse to enter the country if I did have one, so I remained in the USA. This year, Canada relaxed its very strict COVID-19 travel restrictions, and as of October 1, 2022, you can cross the border with ease and a passport. I crossed on the afternoon of the 1st, saw some friends, and was thrilled to be back on Canadian wrecks using SCUBA!
Yesterday, I had strabismus surgery on my right eye (patched in my avatar) to begin a process that might surgically fix what Type II DCS broke.
During the outpatient surgery experience, I learned that Canada is part of the USA and takes longer than one month to reach or return from:
Admissions: Have you traveled anywhere outside of the country in the past 30 days?
Me: Canada.
Admissions: Foreign travel?
Later...
Nurse: Have you traveled anywhere outside the country in the past 30 days?
Me: Canada.
Nurse (skeptical): Within the past 30 days?
Last summer, I returned to freediving and ventured back to the St. Lawrence River. I did not have a valid passport, nor a good excuse to enter the country if I did have one, so I remained in the USA. This year, Canada relaxed its very strict COVID-19 travel restrictions, and as of October 1, 2022, you can cross the border with ease and a passport. I crossed on the afternoon of the 1st, saw some friends, and was thrilled to be back on Canadian wrecks using SCUBA!
Yesterday, I had strabismus surgery on my right eye (patched in my avatar) to begin a process that might surgically fix what Type II DCS broke.
During the outpatient surgery experience, I learned that Canada is part of the USA and takes longer than one month to reach or return from:
Admissions: Have you traveled anywhere outside of the country in the past 30 days?
Me: Canada.
Admissions: Foreign travel?
Later...
Nurse: Have you traveled anywhere outside the country in the past 30 days?
Me: Canada.
Nurse (skeptical): Within the past 30 days?