Diver shares experiences with ambulance and hospitals

[DandyDon]

The private ambulances and hospitals is odd compared to how such are operated in the US so I thought I would share her public announcement...

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This week I took an ambulance ride after a scuba diving accident and was treated successfully with hyperbaric chamber sessions.
It dawned on me during my hospital stay that people may not realize how the ambulance and (private) hospital system works here on Cozumel.
Ambulances are connected to their own hospital and take turns at different locations - they will transport you to their home hospital unless directed otherwise.
For example, after my accident I was transported by an International Hospital ambulance and they wanted to take me to International Hospital.
This was my second dive accident and I have a history at Costa Med (CMC) here on Cozumel. It's where I will always go for a number of reasons.
I requested to go to CMC and the International Hospital staff were not easy to convince. I stuck to my guns and after much back-and-forth, they finally relented when I threatened to call a taxi to get me to CMC.
If you are in an ambulance and request a different hospital, understand that they will take you but they will charge you for transport. In my case it was $150 USD or 3,000 pesos. They accepted a credit card but stopped by their hospital for the credit card terminal.
If you are insured by DAN and have a dive-related injury, call them right away. They have medical staff available 24/7 and will advise that you go to CMC if hospital/emergency care is required. (I do not know about other insurance companies.)
If you do not have insurance, I can highly recommend DAN if you are from the USA. My hospital bill was $10,000 USD and I was never asked for a penny. DAN covered the bill in full.
Lastly, if you are unsure about what hospital to go to, I have now been paralyzed twice in diving accidents, and I highly recommend CMC. They are skilled, kind, efficient and actually have great food!
Most importantly, I can walk again.
You can program your favorite hospital's phone number into your cell (+52 987 872 9400) and call them directly to send an ambulance. Or you can take the closest ambulance and pay their transport fee.
Whichever is medically safer to do.
Hope this post helps someone in need. Better yet, I hope you never need to know any of this!

 

[cozcharlie]

As the post indicated, the ambulances take turns somehow. I wasn’t there , but acquaintance of mine once needed an ambulance while staying 100 yards from CMC which is where his friends wanted him to go. It wasn’t CMC’s turn so ambulance took him to another hospital I didn’t even know existed.

 

[Charred]

That is GREAT info to share. Thank you.

But if she had just mentioned how she got bent it would have been a perfect story.

 

[Zane]

That is GREAT info to share. Thank you.

But if she had just mentioned how she got bent it would have been a perfect story.

Here's what she said in reply to a comment asking her to elaborate on her accident:

If I can help anyone prevent an accident I am happy to share.
I'm an athlete, don't drink, keep hydrated, dive conservatively.
The first hit was a deeper profile and we were cleaning the reef. Max was 90ft at 7 minutes and we did a multi-level dive with time at 70, 50, 40, 30, and a 7 minute safety at 15. Time in water was 50 mins. Second dive was at 50' with time at 30, and another 7 minutes at 15. Time under was 50
I noticed a cramping sensation 5 minutes after surfacing on the second dive. The DMs suck all the oxygen bottles dry when they are hungover so no O2 on board.
Transport to the dock and hospital took 15 minutes total. I was paralyzed before.leaving the boat.
Put in the chamber at CMC for Navy table 6 with extensions and did repeat rides over the next few days. Full recovery without any symptoms so the docs gave me to ok to do dives under 60'
Second accident max depth 60, multi level with extended time at 45, 30 and 5 minutes at 15. 58 minute underwater.
I felt the cramp in the water at about 6 feet under
We were on the dock in 2 minutes and I walked assisted to the medic. Sat in the chair and my.legs were no.longer functioning. O2 administered right away, transported to CMC and symptoms were already resolving when the Dr came in.
These were both unwarranted - I am the only one out of the group to get bent and they were way more aggressive then I was.

Comment link

 

[BlueTrin]

I’d test for PFO if I was her

 

[Zane]

I’d test for PFO if I was her

she also mentioned that she has tested for PFO before, but will get it done again, as sometimes it's missed

 

[DandyDon]

The DMs suck all the oxygen bottles dry when they are hungover so no O2 on board.

That's certainly unacceptable. I hope that it was duly reported.

These were both unwarranted - I am the only one out of the group to get bent and they were way more aggressive then I was.

Yeah, that's not crazy diving at all. I hope that she finds the source of the problem.

 

[yle]

That is GREAT info to share. Thank you.

But if she had just mentioned how she got bent it would have been a perfect story.

Seems it was from diving.

I'm kind of being sarcastic, but kind of not. Most DCS incidents don't have a verifiable cause. She went diving, she took a hit. What more is there to know?

 

[DandyDon]

Most DCS incidents don't have a verifiable cause.

Correct from what I've read, and her description of her dives seems relatively benign. Some chamber doctors have been known to speculate instead of admitting that they don't know, suggesting dehydration for example even tho that risk has been largely discounted.

 

[Nick_Radov]

she also mentioned that she has tested for PFO before, but will get it done again, as sometimes it's missed

While a PFO is the most common type of major shunt, they can also occur in other parts of the circulatory system and allow bubbles to pass through. Perhaps @Duke Dive Medicine could comment here?