No Diving on Meds!

[pablosells]

This kind of incident really bugs me because it demonstrates a lack of clear and calm thinking on the DM's part.

There could easily have been 2 injured divers instead of just one.

I think the DM should have taken a few seconds to tell you to buddy with the photog instead of yanking you to the surface. I can tell you that's what I would have done based on my own experience in a similar situation.

 

[DandyDon]

Shangrl, Your Ursula Andress avatar is so cool! Oh, sorry-went off topic

Dang, thought that was really her. Oh well, she looks nice in her profile pic, too.

 

[Wildcard]

Two weeks after a simple tooth extraction and still on meds? Even more so a reaction to meds after two weeks? Nope, aint gonna happen. Panic attack? More likely. Bad air? could be...."draging" you to the surface? Well, it was only 25 feet and you are a new diver. May not have been the best call but you also can't just abandon a new diver at night.

 

[gangrel441]

It is not uncommon to hear of DMs and Instructors wrongly putting themselves at increased risk in a rescue. What concerns me above the usual cases in this episode is that the DM also put a third, non-injured diver at undue risk as well. I really think this DM needs to re-evaluate the action steps he takes in an emergency. Shan, I'd buddy up with ya' any day. I promise I wouldn't drag you to the surface.

 

[*Floater*]

Whether the DM messed up depends on how fast he ascended imo. If the ascent was at 18ft/min or less and he just skipped a safety stop, then I don't see that as a huge risk from 25 ft. or unacceptable given that the injured diver could have been dying on the surface and in need of immediate assistance.

 

[gangrel441]

Whether the DM messed up depends on how fast he ascended imo. If the ascent was at 18ft/min or less and he just skipped a safety stop, then I don't see that as a huge risk from 25 ft. or unacceptable given that the injured diver could have been dying on the surface and in need of immediate assistance.

So pairing her off with the photog and giving them the instruction that they need to thumb the dive would not have been a more rational decision than grabbing the new divers yoke and dragging her to the surface with him? Even from 25 ft, and with an ascent rate of 18 ft/min, which it sounds like he probably exceeded, taking Shan's post at face value, what if he spooked her enough that she held her breath? What if she had a reverse block in her ear on the way up? A lot can go wrong in those last 25 ft. Plus we don't know how many dives she did that day, or how deep she had been on this dive...

What ever happened to the whole thing about the last 30 ft of ascent being the most dangerous? I think it is pretty clear this was a bad call.

 

[Greg D.]

Im with why was this person still on pain meds 2 weeks after? I was off the pills 2days after, in fact I had less pain AFTER the surgery than Before. Taht aside I belive its taught in your BOW class that you should never dive on meds.

Also I thin the DM was way outa line here in pulling her up thems fightin actions, its not like there wasnt another diver down there that she coulda accended with. From her post sounds like whe knew what to do in the situation and handled herself great, kudos for that. That said I'm sure she coulda made it over to the other diver all by herself without much problem

 

[Wildcard]

It is not uncommon to hear of DMs and Instructors wrongly putting themselves at increased risk in a rescue. What concerns me above the usual cases in this episode is that the DM also put a third, non-injured diver at undue risk as well. I really think this DM needs to re-evaluate the action steps he takes in an emergency. Shan, I'd buddy up with ya' any day. I promise I wouldn't drag you to the surface.

Are you implying that you are a divemaster? Are you saying that you have been there? Do you claim that you have been trained to this level? Please answer, on what do you base your opinion???????

 

[CON8IV]

About 40 min into the dive, I was yanked to the surface by the divemaster suddenly...I think I was around 25 feet. I exhaled the whole way up while wondering what was going on meanwhile.

Just to help clear this up, can you estimate your rate of ascent? If you were wearing a computer can you download the data & determine your ascent rate? Also, how did the DM have a hold of you? Did he have ahold of your BC, Yoke or valve, other? Just playing Devil's Advocate here, but if it was a safe ascent rate, perhaps the DM simply was trying to prevent having to search for another diver when it came time to get back to the dock(fast!) for EMS help. Great job on exhaling all the way up, sounds like your training kicked in.

 

[gangrel441]

Are you implying that you are a divemaster? Are you saying that you have been there? Do you claim that you have been trained to this level? Please answer, on what do you base your opinion???????

My comments are on the basis of avoiding the risk of having 3 victims on the surface, rather than one.

I am not a DM, but am currently working towards it. You, however, are clearly implying that I am wrong, and have no idea what I am talking about. There is at least one other instructor in this thread that disagrees.

Yup, very bad form on the part of your buddy/DM (Notice I put buddy 1st). And I must agree with Gangrel441, many, many, DM's and instructors get overzealous and put themselves in danger.

I'm sure your buddy was well intentioned and probably helped the girl who lost her wisdom. But, it's ironic that I've treated more instructors in the chamber than new divers. Sadly enough it happens more because of complacency and the hero effect than DM's and Instructors just being in the water more (which happens too).

So tell me, Wildcard...are you implying that just because one isn't a divemaster, that one has no way to know if a DM has made a bad decision? Are you saying that DMs are infallable, and that anyone below DM could not possibly comprehend such things?