Divers seriously injured in car accident

[Gdog]

Hit it up after the holidays. No worries!

 

[DandyDon]

Just another quick update on our ongoing saga. My wife got back in the water yesterday for the first time since the accident with our friends (a couple who are a divemaster and an instructor just for a little added supervision) and had a fabulous first dive back (no, I'm not envious at all -- why do you ask? ) I hope to be following her leads in a few months when I am done with physical therapy since I continue to make good progress regaining strength and endurance.

I have had another instructor friend offer some pool time when he next has a class if the scheduling works out, so I have that to look forward to...

I am so glad to hear. Sometime, when you are ready, I hope you share what y'all think you have learned from this horrible experience you survived.

I'd also like your first hand experiences as to how DAN may have helped in your home journey and more, as well as experiences with Trip or Travel insurance if y'all had it.

 

[OrcasC205]

I am so glad to hear. Sometime, when you are ready, I hope you share what y'all think you have learned from this horrible experience you survived.

It will probably be a little while before we can put all that together -- still waiting to see how the story ends.

I'd also like your first hand experiences as to how DAN may have helped in your home journey and more, as well as experiences with Trip or Travel insurance if y'all had it.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, this was the first time I had purchased travel insurance for any trip, diving or otherwise. Because of Covid, I purchased trip insurance through DAN to protect us if anything got canceled or we were delayed due to the pandemic. The plan I purchased was DAN's "Premium Plan" that was administered by Generali and that had the following coverage:

Since I was unconscious the whole time between the accident and my air-ambulance flight back to Seattle, I'm still piecing together what what was covered by our normal health insurance and what was covered by the trip insurance. I do know that the $53K air ambulance flight was covered by the trip insurance as was the out of pocket expenses for the ICU stay and for my wife's hospitalization in Cozumel. I think the two insurance companies are still duking it out to see who will end up with the final tab. The overall sum of the claims made to my health insurance is well over $1.25M so far between the hospital in Mexico, the trauma center I spend 2 months in here in Seattle, and the skilled nursing facility I stayed in for a month when I was finally getting back on my feet (literally.)

I'm just glad at this point that we didn't have to make the $25,000 claim for accidental death or dismemberment.

 

[DandyDon]

I do know that the $53K air ambulance flight was covered by the trip insurance

I think that's among the most important reasons for Trip or Travel insurance when leaving the US even for those who are certain that their home medical insurance will cover them outside of the country, as rare as that is. DAN members are covered by the membership of course.

 

[OrcasC205]

Today was the one year anniversary of when Laurie and I were in the auto accident in Cozumel. It's been a tough year, but all things considered, we were extremely lucky. We have both started diving again in the cold, dark waters of the Puget Sound. My last surgery in February seems to have straightened out the last issues I was having related to my pelvic injury. Now I just have some stiffness and weakness in my left hip that makes it challenging to put my fins on in my drysuit, but my teammates have been willing to help out. Laurie is still experiencing sciatic nerve pain, but she has figured out how to mostly deal with it and diving doesn't seem to cause any flare ups.

We're now focusing on the future rather than the pain of the last year. It is still sobering to realize how close to death we came. I will be eternally grateful to our friends, family, the dive community, and the medical workers that gave us so much support to get us home and recovered.