how to drown in 2 feet of water

[jagfish]

Hi Andy
Thanks the report and keeping us all on our toes. We all need the reminder that bad luck hides in the most unlikely places.

 

[Ken abucs]

I can feel your pain. I broke L1-L3 in a skiing accident 15 years ago. It took awhile, but I got back to normal. Of course every injury is different, but there is hope. Check into getting physical therapy. Strengthing your back and stomach muscles can make a world of difference.

Thanks for sharing this important reminder. I'm glad you're OK. Goodluck with your back.

 

[do it easy]

Glad you made it, Andy! This thing happened to me as well. I was kicking myself because I forgot about the inflator! baptizism in the water

 

[H2Andy]

Andy, just a question. Is your back permanently gibbled like
that? It sounds to me like you might need a different tactic to getting in and out
of the water.

good thinking, actually. the thing is, i am good as long as everything goes
well. i've only had two problems getting in/out of water since the accident
(both with doubles). this is the second one. the first one happened when
i leaned a little too much while on the setps, and ended up sort of on my
side with the tanks leaning against the handrail. my buddy helped me up.
i doubt i could have done it myself without a lot of damage to my back.

so... basically, if i am careful (which i try to be) i can do ok. it's only when
my center of gravity gets away from me that i get in trouble. this has happened
twice.

my back is doing very well, actually, and i am doing physical therapy again,
and the prognosis is good. they estimate i should be back to close to normal
in less than a year.

Strengthing your back and stomach muscles can make a world of difference.

yup... we work on this a lot.

 

[paolov]

thanks for the report. good you are up and about.

the story and the others related shared experiences reminds me of my own encounters with lapses and perhaps they could be called accidents though nothing serious happened as training kicks in.

but the reminder comes into my mind to prevent some accidents better modify the way "we" do things here and GO BACK TO BASICS

BWARF, one at a time in/out of the water with the other watching over the buddy even when they have trainings beyond rescue level...

THanks again for the story and the responses.

So andy, when are you joining PPD dives?

.

 

[H2Andy]

So andy, when are you joining PPD dives?

already in spirit... but in terms of showing up... like...

it's gonna be a while -(

 

[kidspot]

Glad it all ended well Andy - and thanks for sharing the story with us all.

Aloha, Tim

 

[gangrel441]

Hi Andy!

Only question I have is, according to the priorities you laid out, here's what I saw...
1) Attempt to locate primary (for air and to stop freeflow)
2) Locate and initiate use of secondary
3) Attempt to locate primary again to stop freeflow
4) Kick and push to "unturtle" and regain footing

Question is, as you were looking for your primary and then secondary, is there a reason why your other hand wasn't locating and initiating use of your wing/BC power inflator? It would seem to me this step would be another means to getting to surface air, and also another means to saving your back from the kick and push with the doubles on your back. Not sure if this was an oversight or if there was another reason I am unaware of that that solution would be ineffective.

Thanks, and certainly glad you're still with us!

 

[H2Andy]

is there a reason why your other hand wasn't locating and
initiating use of your wing/BC power inflator?

yup: it didn't even cross my mind

this is a geat idea, and one of the things i learned from reading all the comments.

hopefully, if i hadn't been able to get the secondary and unturtle, i would have
thought of inflating my wing ...

but honestly, never thought of it

 

[gangrel441]

Cool. Good lesson learned. In the few experiences I have had losing a reg (momentarily) at the surface before the dive, I have found I instinctively reach for my inflator. Seems like regs have a lot of play in terms of where they could be if they fall away, but the inflator never strays too far from where you left it.