Bent in Belize--Blue Hole Incident

[TheMic]

wow, thanks for sharing, must of been hard

 

[billt4sf]

.I too got bent recently in Cozumel. We don't know why, I did everything right and safe and there was no mistake..except that i did not recognize that i had the skin bends and dove 3 more times till it went into my CNS..

I would find it helpful if you would describe what your "skin bends" symptoms were and what your dive profile was. I have never heard of "skin bends" before.

 

[dmoore19]

I would find it helpful if you would describe what your "skin bends" symptoms were and what your dive profile was. I have never heard of "skin bends" before.

DAN has information on skin bends. Here is what I found with a quick search.

Alert Diver | Skin Bends

 

[alibi 2]

I would find it helpful if you would describe what your "skin bends" symptoms were and what your dive profile was. I have never heard of "skin bends" before.

the post below yours give the link to the DAN sight for skin bends..it is very good ..and gives good photos...I dive cold water and we don't see skin bends here but as NAUI instructors we teach it...that said i still misdiagnosed my symptoms...first some info about me...I am a female age 56yrs...I was certified in 1974...and have been diving 38yrs with over 1,000 dives..I am a DM and have close to 300 dives logged this year before my Cozumel trip.. I am in good shape..but I am an older diver..and i have a lot of scar tissue in my abdomen area from 3 prior surgeries.. I did not drink the night before my incident except for two sangrias.. I was in bed early and had a good breakfast...drank lots of water..I dove two dives in the morning with the deepest around 80' ,,,5min safety stop ..i had no alarms nor did i ever go into a deco mode..... i had over a 2 hour sit before my 3rd dive in the afternoon...that dive was at 60' ,,and again no alarms or deco and a 5min safety...we figured that my bends occurred during one of these dives...i woke up i the night itching ..i took a benedryl and it stopped..i had what looked like hives on my tummy and a little red rash but nothing major..I thought i had contact reaction to sea life or allergy to bedding...(ie soaps)...i had one of the people traveling with me look at it (a hospital trauma nurse) who also thought it was a allergy reaction...So here is where my identifiable mistake happened..I dove again...I dove two morning dives and an afternoon dive..by dinner my itching was also painful and i was having dizziness, nausea and vision issues...in the morning i went to the dive shop and showed Angel my stomach which was now blotchy blue looking instead of red hive looking ...he called the doctor who was there in less than 10 min. he looked at my stomach and took me to his clinic..my resting heart rate was 117....my first chamber ride was 5 1/2 hrs...i had additional rides for the next 3 days for 2 1/2 hours a day..DAN paid the tab which was over $11,000 ..it cost an additional $1500 in air and hotel before i could leave the island..but i had a travel insurance....the worest is I can not dive for 6 months...I see a dive doctor the end of Nov. and will have more information on my condition then...I have also had a physical by my regular doctor once i got home and everything is good...but he is not a dive doctor...the doctor who will see me in Nov. talked to me over the phone about my dive profile and my treatments and agreed with the Mexican doctor that I can not dive for 6 months..

---------- Post Merged at 06:07 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:07 PM ----------

 

[dmoore19]

I would like this, but, I can't say that I like it. Instead I will say thank you for your story.

the post below yours give the link to the DAN sight for skin bends..it is very good ..and gives good photos...I dive cold water and we don't see skin bends here but as NAUI instructors we teach it...that said i still misdiagnosed my symptoms...first some info about me...I am a female age 56yrs...I was certified in 1974...and have been diving 38yrs with over 1,000 dives..I am a DM and have close to 300 dives logged this year before my Cozumel trip.. I am in good shape..but I am an older diver..and i have a lot of scar tissue in my abdomen area from 3 prior surgeries.. I did not drink the night before my incident except for two sangrias.. I was in bed early and had a good breakfast...drank lots of water..I dove two dives in the morning with the deepest around 80' ,,,5min safety stop ..i had no alarms nor did i ever go into a deco mode..... i had over a 2 hour sit before my 3rd dive in the afternoon...that dive was at 60' ,,and again no alarms or deco and a 5min safety...we figured that my bends occurred during one of these dives...i woke up i the night itching ..i took a benedryl and it stopped..i had what looked like hives on my tummy and a little red rash but nothing major..I thought i had contact reaction to sea life or allergy to bedding...(ie soaps)...i had one of the people traveling with me look at it (a hospital trauma nurse) who also thought it was a allergy reaction...So here is where my identifiable mistake happened..I dove again...I dove two morning dives and an afternoon dive..by dinner my itching was also painful and i was having dizziness, nausea and vision issues...in the morning i went to the dive shop and showed Angel my stomach which was now blotchy blue looking instead of red hive looking ...he called the doctor who was there in less than 10 min. he looked at my stomach and took me to his clinic..my resting heart rate was 117....my first chamber ride was 5 1/2 hrs...i had additional rides for the next 3 days for 2 1/2 hours a day..DAN paid the tab which was over $11,000 ..it cost an additional $1500 in air and hotel before i could leave the island..but i had a travel insurance....the worest is I can not dive for 6 months...I see a dive doctor the end of Nov. and will have more information on my condition then...I have also had a physical by my regular doctor once i got home and everything is good...but he is not a dive doctor...the doctor who will see me in Nov. talked to me over the phone about my dive profile and my treatments and agreed with the Mexican doctor that I can not dive for 6 months..

---------- Post Merged at 06:07 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:07 PM ----------

 

[Ayisha]

I did click on "like" Alibi 2 because I like and appreciate that you posted your story. Thanks.

 

[themagni]

wow, thanks for sharing, must of been hard

Yeah, when I wrote it I wasn't sure if it was going to be my Last Day and I was pretty tired.

Getting better though. Still tingling in my right fingertips, but I don't seem to have lost any strength or coordination. I've managed to pull out a couple of personal bests at the gym, including breaking 150 pushups (over the course of an hour-long workout).

I'm seeing a diving doctor at the end of November. I'll see what I end up buying myself for an Xmas present. It'll either be a Predator or a new hobby.

 

[tanksforthememories]

I am glad to hear you are doing well. I respect your honesty and acceptance of responsibility. I note you didn't blame/name the dive shop, many people would have... Lessons learned, the hard way for you and the easy way for those of us who have read your post. I am also a Canadian cold water diver, and have dove the Blue Hole twice with two different DM's. One was good, attentive and limited dive to 130ft (I saw the Stalactites), the other not so much.... It all boils down to personal responsibility. Thank you for sharing.
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[themagni]

I know. I keep posting. I'm sorry, but the story's not quite over yet. Getting close to the end though.

I saw a dive specialist on Friday, the 23rd. (It takes a while to get in, and I wasn't clear to dive based on the BZ doctor's prognosis until at least the 21st) He figures that the damage was indeed to my spinal cord (as I think some of you posted) and this caused the numbing in my hands. (Either cerebral or spinal and I don't have any cerebral symptoms, at least not as far as I can tell but how would I know?) I have to admit that all things considered, I got off remarkably easy. Hilariously easy. (And of course with biking to work the worry about a spinal injury is constant, so the irony is kind of funny.)

I still have a little tingling in my right hand that's there pretty much all the time. I've also got some tingling in my feet that comes and goes, although that's hard to tell if it's from posture or not. It's been a little over three months since the accident, and it's unknown if the nerves will ever recover. I'm kind of used to it, I consider it a scar just like the other ones I've earned along the way. One of my co-workers said it took her ten years to get the feeling to come back to her knees after surgery. (I guess the pain stopped...) Nerves heal slowly, if at all.

I don't seem to have lost any strength or coordination, I've resume all my normal physical activity, and even pulled a bunch of personal bests in the gym (broke 150 pushups twice!). I'm practicing yoga, I'm teaching spin regularly, everything seems to be okay. I'm having a little bit of a problem opening bottles and jars, but I honestly don't know if that's because of the accident. Maybe. I'm having a slightly harder time playing the euphonium too, that's all right hand and lips. I can't quite play as high as before, but that might be my mostache. (Can't wait for December!)

Lost three notes off the top that I never play (and are nearly impossible to play in tune anyway) and I have to use a bottle opener on a twist-top? I'll take it.

The doctor said that the tingling doesn't mean I can't go diving again, but he's going to check me out again 18 Dec. In the meantime, "don't go diving, but don't sell your gear." If it goes well, I may be able to dive again in 2013.

 

[miked]

quote "It's been a little over three months since the accident, and it's unknown if the nerves will ever recover. unquote

Keep the faith! I had a DCS2 hit in Aug. of 2004, and had residual tingling/pins and needles/paresthesia (?sp) in both feet/ankles, 24/7. It took 6 months, but eventually it went away.
Thanks for sharing your story. Sending wishes for a complete recovery.