Yeah, I did it anyway. All the fool I. A bunch of seemingly small choices, all looking like good ideas at the time, all pointed to the chamber. It'll be a while before I get back into my drysuit, but it's still there in the basement waiting.
I've made it home, I went to see a couple of doctors in Canada. My GP retired last year after a heart attack, so I don't have... I think Americans call it a primary care physician? Last night on a recommendation from my counsellor (hey, it's been a rough month) I went to the hospital to get checked out. I waited for a couple of hours to see a doctor; they did bloodwork, which was normal; they checked my vitals, which were normal; and I got sent home. They figure I'm fine, the tingly bits will get better with time. I can still feel a little out of the fingertips so it's likely not serious nerve damage. The machines to test for nerve damage don't actually go all the way to the fingertips, so there's actually not much they could even look for.
I've been in the Belize, American, and Canadian health care systems in the last two weeks. The differences are their own novels.
All in all, I didn't get the vacation I planned, but I got the vacation I needed. It may sound dumb and maybe borderline insane, but even knowing what I know now, I wouldn't change a thing.
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When I read that you were an engineer and consider your self pretty smart, that to me was your first mistake. I say that kind of tongue and cheek, but I am an engineer also, and I've found that thinking you are smart, usually gets you in trouble.
Other than that, you went with the moment and you made some mistakes. I'm sure you knew at the time that you were potentially risking your life ,as we all do when we dive, but to a greater extant than usual because of the lack of equipment. I can't imagine doing a dive without the proper gear, but I'm not here to judge you. Some people (myself included), sometimes have to learn things the hard way.
I am genuinely glad that you made it. Based on what little information I can gather from your post, you seem like a good person, and I think the world would be a little emptier without you in it. Thanks for telling your story so candidly. Others will learn from this and hopefully it will save someone else from having the same experience or worse.
Nah, I assume I'm wrong at least 35% of the time. Saves a lot of emotional investment in solutions I come up with.
But I think what you were saying was the important part of why I got hurt. I went with the moment. I figured I was the least likely to get hurt, and that I'd be able to skimp on the rules. I was wrong. Other people have told me, "You know, I was reading this, and thinking, 'Oh, you idiot!... You know, I would do the same thing...'."
And hopefully, like you're saying, the next guy like me who thinks "eh, what's the worst that can happen?" will remember the time he was reading about some fit, smart, all-too-clever guy on vacation in Belize and get the answer without finding it out the hard way.
