Dr Deco,
My question is based on a diving fatality that happened recently in which my dive buddy died on the surface.
As I know it, his dive log indicated that he had dove 7 times in the previous 8 days - 2 the previous sunday, 1 mid week, 2 the day before, and one just before his last (1 hour 15 min surface interval). He was 15 mins into his second when we surfaced.
The first 3 dives I don't remember the depths except that I know they were not below 60 ft. The 2 dives the previous day were approx 80 ft max and 50 ft. The dive just prior was 70 ft as was the second and last dive with over 1 hour surface interval. The diver was just about to turn 58 yrs old. He was in reasonable shape, he had gained about 40lbs during the previous 2 years (semi-retirement & quitting smoking). The primilary autopsy determined the cause of death as Nitrogen Toxicity due to DCI.
We had prematurely come to the surface due to a gear malfunction that I had. I had spoken to him on the surface. When I eventually turned him over in the water both pupils were blown, fixed and dialated. There were large white froathy bubbles coming from his mouth.
My wife is an experience ICU nurse, I am a First Aid Instructor, we are both Divemasters and even though we understand that everyone's body reacts and operates differently, we can't figure out how he would have gotten that much nitrogen in his system? Our estimation is that he embolized. And since the autopsy was done on the weekend by whoever was on duty maybe they did not know that an autopsy is best started by cracking the head rather than the chest. The lungs where the correct weight and the heart was in good shape.
From this brief and general information, what do you think?
Thanks
Gerry