having read your replies in this thread, I am somewhat grateful that I am "out of touch" with YOUR school and experience of expeditionary diving.
Because in my world, I would seriously question my approach if I had to do over 10 IWR's over the years. Just saying.
Just to be very very clear, I myself have suffered two DCS incedents in 30 years. One treated in a chamber, one by IWR. And that was more than 20 odd years ago.
I also said I needed more than two hands to count the IWRs I have
witnessed, not that I had 'ran' myself.
That is, I did not say, nor imply, that I conducted all those IWR's, although I did conduct / run a few of them (as felt it my duty of care In the circumstances). Witnesing an IWR is not the same as running (i.e. controlling') one or even being directly involved in the IWR process as it were. I am sure you understand the meaning of wItnessing after all? Still, while I wouldn't wish having seen such a number of bends cases on anbody, I am, in retrospect, 'glad' for / of the experience(s). I feel no shame whatsoever, if thats how you think I should feel.
And as any commercial diver (and am not / never was one) will tell you, its par for the course if you go diving enough times in water, that is geting bent is just something you have to accept may happen to you, even if you think you did 'nothing wrong'. But as John Chatterton says on his blog ' there is no such thing as an unearned hit'. And as we all know, there are many many reasons one might get bent, not neccesarily somthing you 'did' on the dive, or lack of 'experience'. Although some of the cases I have witnessed
were from said diver doing someting foolish, but after all we (can) all make mistakes (but hopefully learn not to keep on making the same ones).
Some people feel ashamed to admit the have been bent, which is sad, but after all it is just another sickness, if a rather very serious sickness, hence why its called DCS.
