First dives post Covid! I'm back!

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12th Man

Contributor
Messages
91
Reaction score
120
Location
J&D Ranch North Central Texas
# of dives
100 - 199
My wife and I just returned from a long weekend in Jupiter FL. I did two shark dives on Sat before the tropical storm roared in! I'm nineteen months post Covid from leaving the hospital and two and half years since my last dives. I know a lot of you have followed my Covid progress as it's been a long road back to being under the seas. I had a blast and felt so good diving again. Our first dive was a 50 min drift dive where we had six Silky's following us. The next dive was a 75' wreck dive where a couple of tiger sharks hung out that turned into another drift dive. The tigers didn't show! We did have a couple of Silky's, a few large nurse sharks and two Goliath Groupers. The groupers were super cool! The last dive was a 90/95' wreck dive that I backed out on. I set a goal of no more than 75' the first time out.

It felt great being under the water again, though I did struggle with my buoyancy here and there. It's something I've never had an issue with in the past, but something I need to focus on next time out.

Going back later this summer and then Belize in the fall.
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I am glad that you are all OK now and back to diving again. I am sure it was a terrible experience for you to have had COVID and not being able to dive.

I'd like to ask you a question if you don't mind please; did you have to go through rigorous medical testing and evaluation before you got the OK to go back to diving? What tests did you have to go through until you got the Dr.'s approval to go back to diving?
 
Holy moly - congratulations on your recovery! My wife currently has what DAN would classify as level 2 covid, so I have been reading a lot of your old threads. We have a vacation in Europe this summer and we’re hoping to dive…now I am not so sure.

Anyway - it is really cool to see you’re back from such a close call!
 
"I'd like to ask you a question if you don't mind please; did you have to go through rigorous medical testing and evaluation before you got the OK to go back to diving? What tests did you have to go through until you got the Dr.'s approval to go back to diving?"

Yes I did and it's been a long road back. In Nov/Dec of last year I did 25 one hour EEC Flow therapy sessions which was a game changer when it came to my stamina and fatigue issues. A lot of walking and bike riding. This April I did two sessions in a hyperbaric chamber to make sure I could with stand the pressures. As I recall the first 90 min session was at 1.75 atmospheres and the second was at 2.75. The doc told me anything over 2 atmospheres I was good to go. I had a bunch of heart tests done and CT scans on my lungs which looked great espeically being on a ventilator for 6 days and 40 total days in the hospital. They also did a lot of blood tests to check and recheck I was good to go.

My wife being a nurse came out on the boat for the six hours we were out to sea, just in case something happened. All went according to plan. She and I had a maximum dive depth of 75' for the first time out. We stuck to that.
 
"I'd like to ask you a question if you don't mind please; did you have to go through rigorous medical testing and evaluation before you got the OK to go back to diving? What tests did you have to go through until you got the Dr.'s approval to go back to diving?"

Yes I did and it's been a long road back. In Nov/Dec of last year I did 25 one hour EEC Flow therapy sessions which was a game changer when it came to my stamina and fatigue issues. A lot of walking and bike riding. This April I did two sessions in a hyperbaric chamber to make sure I could with stand the pressures. As I recall the first 90 min session was at 1.75 atmospheres and the second was at 2.75. The doc told me anything over 2 atmospheres I was good to go. I had a bunch of heart tests done and CT scans on my lungs which looked great espeically being on a ventilator for 6 days and 40 total days in the hospital. They also did a lot of blood tests to check and recheck I was good to go.

My wife being a nurse came out on the boat for the six hours we were out to sea, just in case something happened. All went according to plan. She and I had a maximum dive depth of 75' for the first time out. We stuck to that.

Praise to Allah for your safety and recovery, may you enjoy great health and awesome diving in all safety for decades to come.
 
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