Dive safe! A short story from a chamber operator

[Joneill]

In the last couple of weeks have spent quite a few hours on duty. We can go months without being called. Ironically both most recent incidents were with the same op. No oxygen on was supplied on board. Neither incident was mild. Both cases were divers who normally dive Nitrox but were not or mixing. Reason heresay so it is what it is. Both were experienced divers one of whom was doing 2T mornings with shore dives in afternoons. The other had done only 1T for a few days but 3 dives the day she became ill. Hugely unfortunate one thought DAN was current and the other never had it. More unfortunate is both like so many of us never think it will happen to them. They were simply doing what they have always done. My experience doesn’t answer any questions but suggests that just because you got away with doing something for years doesn’t mean you can always get away with it. I am very proud of my ability to glide up and over and back down again over fingers. Might be rethinking that skill

Luckily, they have a chamber and folks like you to support it In GC. Hopefully, the divers make a full recovery. Good point on DAN - I know my DAN insurance expires every March, so am always proactive on renewing and I make sure I have my card with me and my traveling companions have the info as well - just in case!

Curious - any info on age and fitness/weight of the 2 recent cases? Were they older or out of shape?

 

[Esprise Me]

I think you can set up DAN to auto-renew. Something to consider if you're the forgetful type.

 

[aviator8]

I am very proud of my ability to glide up and over and back down again over fingers. Might be rethinking that skill

just so I understand you are saying you are proud of gliding up and over obstacles but maybe going around is better?

 

[Joneill]

I think you can set up DAN to auto-renew. Something to consider if you're the forgetful type.

You can set up automatic renewal. You just need to watch credit card expiration dates - but DAN will alert you before renewal and if the linked card has expired. I always make sure I confirm the renewal and have the new card in hand each year!

 

[caydiver]

Going over obstacles is fine depending on how much you are ascending and descending to achieve the goal. If you are going up and down over coral fingers repetitively you can be bounce diving almost inadvertently. One of our guests was just over 70, still a working instructor at home and avid and successful underwater photographer. The other was a more casual diver, much younger, and had a solid number of dives over 8 years. Both were bad enough to require wheel chair and in one case stretcher repeatedly. Oxygen on the boat would probably have been very helpful. Dive docs more knowledgeable on that front.

 

[Fastmarc]

Yesterday through browsing on SB saw a post mentioning DAN Europe. I thought to myself, come on man, there must be a DAN that covers the Caribbean. Searched and found DAN World which covers Jamaica. Bought it immediately.
Don’t know why I wasn’t able to find it before. Maybe I kept defaulting to the US site. Many years ago I used to get coverage through the US DAN, but they stop providing coverage for my area.
Just feel more at ease knowing that in the unlikely event It happened, at least I have that coverage.

 

[caydiver]

We had DAN US for years when we lived in the States. Had it here in Cayman initially and then were covered by DAN Europe. We are DAN US again. From a coverage point of view if you need chamber treatment we don’t have to actually speak to someone at DAN who has coverage through US. For DAN Europe we do prior to starting treatment. Sometimes it is a pain. If you can get coverage through US go for it!

 

[sandcruiser]

I'd love to be able to video record the experience, especially from an attendant point of view. When transferring in or out, you sit in a very tiny lockout chamber, and the first time I did that, I felt a tinge of claustrophobia. Also one thing that surprised me, is how much different equalizing your ears is in the chamber. I have very good ears for diving, but during decent in the chamber, I find that I have to equalize almost every foot, which is way more often than when I'm diving.

Probably the difference is related to having higher-pressure air in your mouth vs. the same pressure in your mouth/ears? I can equalize hands-free in SCUBA but haven't figured it out in Freediving yet.