I would now fall into the deserved category since, despite my efforts to control known factors, I still get hits. So basically if I continue to dive, knowing the risk, I “deserve” to get hit.
BTW. I have choosen not to dive my upcoming trip to St Kitts since there seems to be no nitrox on the island and for safety reason I don’t dive air. But if I change my mind and dive air I will deserve any hit I get.
Like I said before, to me it's only deserved if you keep doing the same things, with no change. In your case, you have worked the problem. You got Adv Nitrox certification and dive with O2. To my understanding, you are not just continuing to do the same things over and over.
Also, as I just said to John, anything that happens once is not, by itself, a dataset. It's not a reason to necessarily change. So, if you've been working it and changing your diving and you still got bent, it could still be that the one time, since your latest changes to your diving, is an anomaly.
It's not (necessarily) when something happens once. It's when you've established a clear pattern and you still don't change. At that point, it could be Deserved. However, don't misconstrue that to be insulting. We're all taking calculated risks when we dive. If you have the knowledge and experience and you choose to dive knowing that you have a higher-than-normal risk of DCS, and then you take a hit, it might be deserved, but that doesn't (in MY mind, anyway) say anything bad about you as a person or a diver. You knew the risks, you did it anyway. I find that way more respectable than someone that takes a hit because they did something that elevated their risk, but they did so out of ignorance or through poor skills. They might both be deserved, but one person can still be an idiot and another person be a good, smart diver, taking a calculated risk and getting unlucky.
I raced motorcycles for many years. I had some crashes. I have a permanent disability from one of my on-track accidents. Is my disability deserved? Absolutely. I chose to be there, knowing the risks. Does that mean I'm dumb? Well, I don't think so, but some people would say emphatically yes. Does that mean I am (or was) a bad racer? I don't think so. I won regional championships. I have one of the best records of (almost no) crashes and DNFs (Did Not Finish) of any trophy-winning motorcycle racer I know. I was not great, but I think I was a pretty good racer. But, my crashes and injuries still qualify (in my mind) as "Deserved".
I have no issues and high respect for people who knowingly accept risk, pursue their goals anyway, and do it in a highly skilled way. Overcoming challenges is way more respect-earning than doing something that comes easily with no problems. I have way more respect for you, Lisa, what you do, and how you go about it, than the vast majority of divers who dive and never get bent but it's because of pure random luck. You've been bent. You've taken steps to mitigate that risk. You are a really good diver. And you keep diving because you love it. I think that is awesome!
