Bent!

[cool_hardware52]

Did any of the medical personnel contact DAN for input, by any chance?
Possibly, a dive medicine trained Dr might have handled the early treatment differently.

I have no real way of knowing who called who, but I would guess that once I was in the cozy confines of the ER that nobody there was reaching for the phone. Keep in mind that this facility has a chamber on site. The HBC is a distinctly different operation from the ER, but it is housed in the same complex.

The doctors who staff the HBC are some of the folks DAN would call if they had questions......

Tobin

 

[Insta-Gator]

That was a great report on a scary situation. Thanks for sharing. Here's to a quick recovery. (it's a non-alcoholic drink )

 

[grantwiscour]

First off...glad you are ok. Thanks for all the good info.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

I originally thought "chokes" on the boat, but discounted that when I felt better on surface O2 DCS Chokes

Surface O2 was helping with the breathing, and the chest tightness passed pretty quickly. Dizziness was the primary problem. Made me think Type 2 and get me to a chamber. I never had any other Type2 symptoms.

I've come to learn after speaking with HMB experts that not every "pulmonary" DCS or chokes event is overwhelming or fatal, and that surface O2 can help. I now suspect that dehydration led to a pulmonary DCS event, that triggered an even greater drop in BP, and the low BP's were the source of the lightheadedness.

Do be advised that this is only *my personal* theory, others may differ, and other far better qualified than me may well have other ideas. No one should rely on my thoughts as a basis for any future decisions.

Tobin

Tobin, fantastic summary with a great outcome. Glad to hear you're ok. Though it seems intuitive, it's pretty hard to pin down dehydration as an immediate cause of DCS (big discussion here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/410931-dehydration-really-bad-6.html) You hit it on the head in saying that DCS can certainly aggravate dehydration, though, and it sounds like they caught it just in time if you're saying your kidney function was affected.

As an aside, your second treatment was almost certainly a TT5 - a TT4 is around 40 hours long, you'd definitely remember that

 

[miked]

Thanks for sharing your story, and best wishes for continued good health.

 

[DiveNav]

Hi Tobin,
I am glad you are OK.

Thank you for posting the report here on SB too

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Hi Tobin,

I am glad you pulled through it all and wish you the best for a 100% recovery.

A question, in retrospect is there anything you think of that could have be done to decrease the delays in the ER room before being sent to the chamber? Seems like a really long delay when it was fairly clear from a divers perspective that it was DCS and for the docs to rule out the cardiac issues.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Hi Tobin,

I am glad you pulled through it all and wish you the best for a 100% recovery.

A question, in retrospect is there anything you think of that could have be done to decrease the delays in the ER room before being sent to the chamber? Seems like a really long delay when it was fairly clear from a divers perspective that it was DCS and for the docs to rule out the cardiac issues.

Thank you for the kind wishes.

Most chambers are not at the ready 24/7, and it takes some time to secure the necessary personal to operate them.

I went in at about ~ 8:00 pm on a Saturday night, and I'm sure I impacted the weekend plans of one HBM doctor and at least 4 other HMB RN's and Technicians, all of whom cheerfully and professionally assisted me. These are very hardworking folks.

I assume the most effective way to speed things along is to have a 2nd able bodied diver accompany the causality to the ER. I am willing to let this theory go untested for as long as possible.

Tobin

 

[merxlin]

Great report Tobin and as others have said, thank you for sharing your experience with us. I hope that your recovery continues to be on track.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Glad you are ok. I've been bent too.

Did I miss mention of the SI between dives? Also, did you follow a computer or is this ratio deco procedure for repetative dives?