Cozumel dive fatality on April 3?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Dave Dillehay:
Aldora does have an AED out on the water everyday. I'm old too!


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
Click to expand...
????? Really!! On which boat(s) Dave? I was not aware of this. Something that would be good to know. Could have used one in January at one of our surface intervals...not one of your divers but would have been great to have an AED on the boat!
 
Last edited:
Dear Diverken,

We got our first one on April 1, trained our staff on it use and now have two. WE try to have one or more on every outing. I am also working with the Medical community to permanently placing an ambulance at Playa Palancar, where I will donate a AED to be placed there. One issue is the the medical community here tells me that AEDs are great but direct cardiac injection of medicines are also helpful (dive boat can never do that).

The whole point is that time is the most important factor in survival and the standard practice here (water to boat boat to dock, to ambulance, to hospital), all before even AED, is ridiculously slow and almost assures a bad outcome.

I belive we can do better.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
 
That is great to hear Dave!
I believe that I read recently that 32% of diver deaths are cardiac related (don't hold me to that #). I truly fit the profile.
To have an AED on each boat would exceed all expectations and is once again a great credit to your/my dive operation!
The goal is to get the diver to a facility alive ASAP where the best treatment is available including thrombolytics if warranted.
 
Dave, I am just curious. Are all of your captains and DM's trained in current CPR? I only ask this because my wife works with people in facilities that have an AED close by but, as has been stated earlier, an AED is no replacement for performing CPR and the use of an AED is often performed in conjunction. I remember the old days when it was 5:1 compression/breaths we were taught in school but that has migrated over the years to the current 15:2. I will also say that I've no idea if my preferred dive op (Tres Pelicanos) has staff trained in the latest CPR as I've never thought to ask until this thread presented itself.
 
Last edited:
Dave Dillehay:
... One issue is the the medical community here tells me that AEDs are great but direct cardiac injection of medicines are also helpful (dive boat can never do that).

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
Click to expand...
I thought intracardiac injections went out decades ago except as a very last resort when no other route is avaliable. Its been awhile but I don't think its even taught in ACLS now.

AEDs are more and more accepted as the most effective lifesaving prehospital intervention for cardiac arrest.
 
deepsea21:
Dave, I am just curious. Are all of your captains and DM's trained in current CPR? I only ask this because my wife works with people in facilities that have an AED close by but, as has been stated earlier, an AED is no replacement for performing CPR and the use of an AED is often performed in conjunction. I remember the old days when it was 5:1 compression/breaths we were taught in school but that has migrated over the years to the current 15:2. I will also say that I've no idea if my preferred dive op (Tres Pelicanos) has staff trained in the latest CPR as I've never thought to ask until this thread presented itself.
Click to expand...
My understanding is that all PADI DMs up are required to have had a First Aid and CPR course. But I believe that to advertise as "CPR certified" they would have to take the recertification course required every two years.
 
NDL_Diver:
Would it even work in a wet salt water invironment? How would care giver get clear of the shock in a wet boat?

I Don't know.

AL
Click to expand...

Risk of shock to a bystander or caregiver, even on a wet boat, is minimal. The charge is delivered through one electrode and it travels the most direct path, to the adjacent electrode.
 
RayfromTX:
People that are advancing in years and in unknown health dive on vacation hundreds of times a day in Cozumel. There is a roullette wheel of sorts that dive ops spin when taking them out for rec dives. On a normal good day all goes well for the dive op and the customers. On a bad day, they spin the wheel and get the person with a pre-existing condition that is about to ruin their day and perhaps change their life no matter what they do or how well they were prepared.

The customer's problem may be related to their heart, their diabetes, their anxiety or their suicidal depression. The Dive Master has a short bit of time to judge who is with him today and what they are capable of, what they need and what types of problems they may create while focusing on getting them geared up and ready to have fun. There are some crazy stories out there of things that happen under water. I've heard tales of DMs chasing down suicides and dragging them back up rather than watching them drift down the wall seeking a painless check out with no way to prove it was a suicide.

Now, imagine you are the the dive operator that had the unlucky spin that day and the next thing you know, people with no clue of what just happened, hell you don't even know for sure, are demanding an answer and "witnesses" with no skill in judging these events and only a limited view of what happened are starting a whirlwind of rumor that is questioning the safety of your operation. Your day just went from oh crap what can I do to assist in resolving this tragedy and informing the family and counseling my traumatized staff, to oh crap how do I defend myself from this insanity that was just unleashed by the internet monster.

Out of bounds? I don't know about that but in my opinion it is counterproductive, insensitive and potentially tragically unjust. It certainly is no way to get to the bottom of these events and if you spend a few hours or days reading the A&I threads on this board you will see what I mean. If you read those threads and then have the opportunity to speak with someone personally involved in one, it is likely to be eye opening.
Click to expand...

I don't really feel comfortable naming the dive operator as even though I was on the dive I don't have all the facts. I wouldn't want to see their business hurt on my account. I dove the rest of the week with them and everything was fine.

I saw that the woman was very apprehensive about the dive but I have seen this many times under similar circumstances. Her partner we were told had 500 dives. They surfaced at a normal speed and were not down more than a few minutes. I saw them at the surface both finning and didn't see when the boat picked them up. I only heard later she was in trouble and was rushed to shore. I "assume" our boat radioed to have another boat come get us as that is what happened. There were three women together and one of them continued the dive with us. I don't believe the woman who passed had equipment issues but I don't know this for a fact.

The second person who surfaced said they had an issue with their regulator but I don't know what that issue was.
 
RayfromTX:
With only a few exceptions, all the dive ops on Cozumel get their tanks filled at the same place and it is a huge fill station that services the island.
Click to expand...
And I have found CO tainted air in tanks from there. DAN has since given them CO monitors, but I'm not confident in their use. I test all tanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom