Diver accident in Michigan

[pilot fish]

The reg could have left her mouth the first time for any of a large number of reasons. When a diver replaces the second stage in his/her mouth, there's a bit of water in the space there, and this needs to be blown out - by exhaling or keying the purge button - before inhaling, or that water will enter the divers windpipe, which can lead to choking, possibly panic, etc. Without going in my details, it happened to me when I switched from my pony back to my main tank in June, and I felt the choking, possible panic, followed by dumbness as I regained control - as I have practiced that many times and know better. Sometimes, some of us get so accustomed to breathing in from that mouthpiece we may forget the necessities just for an unfortunate instant.

Bob, I certainly hope that Maggi's recovery is swift and full, and that she wants to get back in the water soon - before this might become her last memory of diving. If she doesn't, she doesn't. Thanks for sharing this with us, and very best wishes to you both.

Thanks, Don. I was just curious what caused it to be out of her mouth? The way the mouth piece is configured on the second stage, it wouldn't just fall out, so I was wondering if it got knocked out, or some other reason caused her to spit it out- malfunction?

Whatever the reason, he acted well and was able to save her. Don't think I could have done as well, although I would hope to, and try to.

 

[BabyDuck]

thanks for filling us in, bob. i'm glad she's continuing to improve.

ya did good, kiddo.

 

[pilot fish]

Thanks for all the support!
Maggi is continuing to improve, they are changing the antibiotics today to a stronger one that should take care of the pneumonia. Her x-rays are looking good and the doctor is very pleased with her progress. They are decreasing the oxygen feed to the ventilator as her lungs get better at oxygenating her blood. She is down to 40% O2 on from the ventilator which is a big drop from the 100% they were feeding her earlier.
Once her fever comes down some more they are planning on removing the drugs that keep her from moving and the sedative so she can wake up. That won't be until tonight or tomorrow.
I don't know if they are planning another chamber run for her later or not. It had been discussed earlier in the week but they don't want to do the 6 hour run without her being concious. So far I haven't shown any signs of the bends, this being the first dive of the day and no deep dives previously helps out with that.
Bob

This must be tough on you as well? Everyone wishes her speedy and full recovery.

Bob, only if you can talk about it, if you cannot I understand, but could you tell us how her reg was out of her mouth in the first place? It would help to know so we can avoid that mistake. The most important thing is for your wife to get better. Blessing to her.

 

[pants!]

My reg has fallen out of my mouth a couple of times before. I just got lazy on biting on the mouthpiece, and I turn my head and the hose exerts just enough pressure to pull it out.

It happens, there's no reason to harp on it any further.

 

[gitterdun]

God speed, Bob.... ya done good...

 

[pants!]

Oh yeah, to echo all of the other comments, you done REAL good. I'm very happy to hear that she appears to be coming around.

She was lucky to have you there and godspeed to both of you.

 

[LavaSurfer]

Bob,

I will second what everyone has said. You Done Good!
I have worked in the ER, Been a Paramedic and spent years in the EMS system. You saved her from what sounds like a sure catastrophe. It’s too bad that the boat did not have O2 and I sure will check in the future. You were very clear headed under an extreme situation and that says a lot.

Also, I have been debating on whether I should take a Rescue Diver course.
Thanks for making up my mind for me.

Best wishes and Prayers to you and your wife.

Scooter

 

[Trwmodela]

You did everything that most of us wish we could do under such stress. Providing a Rescue and EMT to a loved one is not an easy task. You would make an excellent diving instructor. One note: all dive boats should have 100 percent oxygen on board. The dive boats I have used lately also have AED's. My background a retired Professional Firefighter and a newly OW certified diver.

Tim

 

[bobmaggi]

Bob, only if you can talk about it, if you cannot I understand, but could you tell us how her reg was out of her mouth in the first place? It would help to know so we can avoid that mistake. The most important thing is for your wife to get better. Blessing to her.

Since you also use your lips to hold the regulator and with cold water the lips numb up pretty quick. So if you aren't also biting down on the bite tabs it is fairly easy to have the reg pop out when you turn your head. I've almost had it happen to me a few times when we are diving in <40 degree water (regular temperature occurrance around here) and have to mentally remind myself to bite down harder. I didn't see her regulator fall out, I just saw her grabbing it and replacing the reg. This has happened before and she has told me afterwards that her lips were numb enough that she couldn't really 'feel' the regulator and didn't realize that she wasn't clamping down hard enough.
Bob

 

[bobmaggi]

There are only two things I can think of that you could have done differently. Someone said that you could have done some rescue breathing on the surface while heading back to the boat. I may have done this or not, you were pretty far away and really needed to get her to the boat. It is really hard to do this while in the water. Practice it once, you'll see. The only other thing is doing chest compressions on someone with a heartbeat. That can actually stop somones heart from beating. In your case, it was ok. Rescue breathing is all that should be done for someone that is not breathing, but has a pulse.

I believe that I used the wrong terminology when I said chest compressions, what I was doing was after each breath I would apply pressure to the sternum/diaphragm as the air expelled to try to help pump out the water in her lungs. The more water I got out the easier it was to breath for her. I don't know if there is actual name for that but it just seemed to make sense at the time to help push out the water so she could breath.

Bob