Filmmaker Rob Stewart dies off Alligator Reef

[mdb]

No surprise there, but thanks for posting...

Agreed, no surprise, but I also appreciate the follow up.

We continue to learn even from sad posts.

 

[BRT]

I really appreciate getting the final say after all the speculation.

 

[Kay Dee]

Well, while the overall diagnosis is probably correct, the examiners statement, and I quote (......and oxygen alone “does nothing to address the underlying pathophysiology of” decompression sickness.") is totally BS!

I have personally both seen and experienced myself the poste haste simple administering of oxygen relieve (but not necessarily 'cure') DCS symtoms.

 

[doctormike]

O2 completely cured my DCS symptoms (spinal cord hit), but I ended up taking a chamber ride anyway later that day on the advice of DAN. Maybe the symptoms would have come back without the HBO treatment?

 

[Wookie]

Remember, there were 2 divers here with identical dives. One was treated with O2 and walked off the boat. The other didn't.

 

[Dan]

http://www.flkeysnews.com/news/local/article165951172.html

Medical Examiner rules Rob Stewart's cause of death as "drowning after succumbing to acute lack of oxygen — or hypoxia."

I apologize if this has been discussed previously. It's too many pages to go back to & browse through all the posts. I heard this kind of CCR fatality / accident / incident due to hypoxia a lot. Besides leaving the gag strap on (if you wear one that is) when you return back to the surface or closing the mouthpiece loop when you want to breathe surface air, to prevent counter lung flooding & sinking to the bottom of the sea, is there other preventive method to avoid passing out & drowning while you are on the surface waiting for rescue?

Rob gave an OK sign before passing out, sank & drown. Had he just kept the mouthpiece on, did a MOF & breathed through his nose, would that prevent him from passing out or at least from sinking & drowning?

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Had he just kept the mouthpiece on, did a MOF & breathed through his nose, would that prevent him from passing out?

Not if he was breathing 10/50 at the surface.

 

[Dan]

Not if he was breathing 10/50 at the surface.

I meant had he taken off his mask, before giving OK sign & breathed fresh air on the surface through his nose, rather than through his mouth on the mouthpiece while floating. Would that be survivable?

 

[Wookie]

I meant had he taken off his mask, before giving OK sign & breathed fresh air on the surface through his nose, rather than through his mouth on the mouthpiece while floating. Would that be survivable?

I think Capt. Jim's response is, if the amount of O2 in the blood is no more than 10%, that is survivable at 20 feet on a safety stop (PPO2 .14). As soon as you surface, your blood PO2 crashes (to .10 PPO2) and you're going to pass out. Period. Maybe without enough time to close your mouthpiece or breath through your nose. Note. A PPO2 of .14 is not recommended, but survivable. He would be dopey as hell at the end of his safety stop.

 

[Dan]

I guess jaw would drop & mouthpiece comes off when a diver pass out on the surface. Is that one of the reasons you have a gag strap?

Have anyone found unconscious diver floating on the surface with mouthpiece on without gag strap?

Since the chance of survival / being found floating on the surface by SAR is much better than on the bottom of the sea, is there a better mouthpiece design that will keep it stay on the mouth when diver becomes unconscious?