I've finally worked up the courage to share an incident that led Jennifer and me to stop diving. While I mentioned it to Pete some time ago, posting about it publicly has been unexpectedly hard.
Last February, right after Jennifer and I went to bed, her heart stopped. Thankfully, she made a strange sound when it happened, which prompted me to check on her. She wasn’t breathing, and I couldn’t feel a pulse. Fortunately, I’d taken DAN first aid, CPR, and other courses. I called 911, moved her to the floor, and performed CPR for a few minutes until the paramedics arrived. They used an AED to get her heart beating again, though her pulse was very irregular and low, and her heart stopped six more times on the way to the ER.
After a week in the ICU, Jennifer was moved to a regular room. They implanted an automatic internal defibrillator and sent her home a day later. Despite every test imaginable—heart, blood, urine—the doctors couldn’t find a cause.
When she was discharged, the surgeon said she could return to normal activities, with one exception: diving. Since they don’t know what caused her heart to stop, it could happen again, and the defibrillator might not be able to save her underwater.
It wouldn’t feel right to go on exotic dive trips without her, so we’re both stepping away from diving.
I’ve made a lot of friends on Scubaboard and through group dive trips. I’ll miss you all. In fact, I already do—I’ve been avoiding the site for months, knowing I needed to post this message.
Were it not for diving, I wouldn’t have taken the CPR course, and my wife might not be here today. While I’ve heard CPR isn’t always successful, in this case, it saved her life. If you’re reading this and haven’t taken a CPR class, please consider it. You never know when you might need that skill.
Last February, right after Jennifer and I went to bed, her heart stopped. Thankfully, she made a strange sound when it happened, which prompted me to check on her. She wasn’t breathing, and I couldn’t feel a pulse. Fortunately, I’d taken DAN first aid, CPR, and other courses. I called 911, moved her to the floor, and performed CPR for a few minutes until the paramedics arrived. They used an AED to get her heart beating again, though her pulse was very irregular and low, and her heart stopped six more times on the way to the ER.
After a week in the ICU, Jennifer was moved to a regular room. They implanted an automatic internal defibrillator and sent her home a day later. Despite every test imaginable—heart, blood, urine—the doctors couldn’t find a cause.
When she was discharged, the surgeon said she could return to normal activities, with one exception: diving. Since they don’t know what caused her heart to stop, it could happen again, and the defibrillator might not be able to save her underwater.
It wouldn’t feel right to go on exotic dive trips without her, so we’re both stepping away from diving.
I’ve made a lot of friends on Scubaboard and through group dive trips. I’ll miss you all. In fact, I already do—I’ve been avoiding the site for months, knowing I needed to post this message.
Were it not for diving, I wouldn’t have taken the CPR course, and my wife might not be here today. While I’ve heard CPR isn’t always successful, in this case, it saved her life. If you’re reading this and haven’t taken a CPR class, please consider it. You never know when you might need that skill.
