bent bad in Grand cayman

[miked]

Hi to all,
Well, my number came up, and I lost.

The plan was: Fly to GC on Sat. Aug 14, fly home on Sat Aug 21 with diving in between.

The reality:
After 3 dives on the first day (Sun 8/15/04), I didn’t feel well: fatigue, “rubber legs” etc.
I checked my profiles/computer/etc-and said “no way I could be bent”……..
Well, the ER doctor disagreed, big time. She was a diver, and very well versed in DCI. She examined me, and gave me the bad news. She said, somewhat later, after checking profiles, computer, etc. “you did nothing wrong, but took a bad hit”, followed by “this proves, once again, that sh%$ happens”
In short, I wound up with type 2 spinal DCI, took 6 chamber rides (USN table 6) over the next 6 days, (where, thank God, I went from not being able to walk or urinate, to being able to do both) and was able to fly home on 8/24. I am mostly better, but am under orders to take it easy for several weeks, if not longer. As I type this, I am waiting for the “local” dive doctor (recommended by DAN) to call me back to set up a follow-up
It would seem that my diving days are over.

Some observations/comments:
1) Sometimes sh%$ does happen, even if you “follow the rules”.

2) Thank goodness for DAN- they provided info and assistance in many ways; and for having DAN insurance- my chamber rides alone cost $15,000+


3) My highest praise goes to the Doctor, and to the men and women of the Cayman Hyperbaric Services team. Without their expertise and compassion, I don’t know what shape I’d be in. (“somewhat claustrophobic” and “hyperbaric chambers” is a tough mix.)

4) Sometimes life s#*ks, but it could have been worse. {yeah, I’m feeling sorry for myself}

5) Be extra careful-this could happen to you.

6) I hope any of you that do “get a hit” are as fortunate as I was regarding the quality of care available to you.

Be well and be safe,
Mike

 

[SueMermaid]

Sorry to hear about your scary week, Mike. It is very good to hear that you have recovered as well as you have to date, traumatic for you as it was.
Forgive my being so nosy, but can you give us your dive profiles? How many dives have you done of a similar nature? Is there anything out of the ordinary at all about your day before and during the dives?
You are so right, this CAN happen to me, or anyone else. The more we know, the better off we are. Your post is a reminder to me to renew my DAN insurance right away.

-All the best for a full recovery, both emotional and physical,

Sue

 

[Rick Inman]

Wow, Mike, that's terrible. Sorry to here about this.
You said that your diving days are over, but, I'll put in my vote for someday you being able to dive again.
When you feel like it, how about posting some details about your dive profiles.
Thanks for posting, and I/m believing for you to make a full recovery!
Rick

 

[Avalanche]

Miked,
Thanks for sharing that story. Quick question though, why did you say that your diving days are over? Are there physiological reasons?

Glad that you're safe, and recovering.

-Avalanche

 

[IndyDan]

Mike, thanks for sharing your sobering story. We can all benifit by being reminded that our sport can be dangerous, and DAN insurance shouldn't be cosidered optional.

I'm very glad your recovery is progessing, and I hope your wrong about youe diving days being over.
Dan

 

[diverbrian]

I hate to ask, but unless you have some sort of condition, I know that Bernie Chowdhury (and many of the old school divers) took explosive hits and were still able to dive with accomodation (ie. high PO2 mixes).

I would talk to DAN and learn more about what happened if I were you. If you are scared off, than I wouldn't advise trying it again. But if you really want to dive again, I would see if there is a way to at least do minimal depth along the reefs.

I am glad that you made it out though. I would be interested in those profiles as well if you care to share them. Thanks for talking about it and keep the chin up!

 

[pasley]

...It would seem that my diving days are over.
...

Mike,
Thank you for sharing. Lots of vauable information there. I thank you for sharing that others may learn. Too many divers don't want to talk about if for fear we will treat them like they have the plauge.

I have been down the "undeserved DCI" route myself.

Has the doctor told you your diving days are over? That may not be the case. You may have been dehyddrated from the flight. Did you sit in the hotel room the night of arrival and drink water, or did you get off the plane with its bone dry air and go out and hit the bar scene? You may have a PFO. Many things that may have caused it. Some will mean no more diving, some won't.

I was bent on dive 12 and last night I did my145th dive with out problem.

So hang in there and don't give away the gear just yet. Wait and see what the Doc says.

Not a doctor or qualified professional. Just a dive nut.

 

[miked]

Thanks to all for the kind words.

The dive profiles:

Dive #1: max depth 96 ft,
time 31 minutes, of which only 6 minutes were deeper
than 80', and only 2 deeper than 90'
19 mins of the dive were shallower than 40'
(those specifics came from a computer download of the dive)
safety stop: 5 min at 15'
surface interval: 3.5 hours

Dive#2: max depth 50 ft
time 41 minutes
safety stop: 3 min at 15'

surface interval: 45 minutes

Dive #3: max depth 49 ft
time 42 minutes
safety stop: 5 min at 15 ft.

I had done between 500-525 prior dives to this trip, and have done "dive days" with dives of similar profiles.

I was, I felt, hydrated-I had one beer the night before-and drank quite a lot of water. No coffee, no cola, etc.
I felt somewhat fatigued on the morning of the 15th-travel,etc, but no more than on past trips. (I'm a WWW who lives in NJ)

Regarding the "not diving again": that is the recommendation of the Doctor in GC. Her reasoning, as she explained it: Since you did nothing wrong, there is no "avoid doing _____,and you'll probably be okay", and "the next hit,
possibly "underserved", could be worse."
I will listen to the Doctor at home, but friends and family-who are really shook up about this-are putting forth strong arguments in favor of hanging up the fins.

again, thanks for the kind words.

Mike

 

[TX101]

Sorry about what happened..

but my most important question is:

Did you log the chamber dives???

 

[miked]

Sorry about what happened..

but my most important question is:

Did you log the chamber dives???

LOL
Not yet, but I've got the info,and will put it in the book.
thanks for the laugh.

(BTW, in the chamber in GC there is a team member with you, on hourly shifts. One of them did a (wet) dive later in the day. I saw him during a subsequent session, and he indicated that he had to take the chamber dive into consideration in planning his afternoon dive! It makes perfect sense, but... this is some activity that we do . )

Mike