Post-rescue depression???

[chillyinCanada]

Crass, good for you for calling out the Monday morning quarterbacks. You made the call and you saved a life. You were there! I truly hope you feel better soon, you don't deserve to feel bad. You deserve back pats and handshakes all around.

 

[Crass3000]

The most basic lesson from basic scuba is to :Establish positive buoyancy on the surface" I think it pertains to both you and the victim. If you have no gear, you should have instantly, immediately and without hesitation pressed her inflate button. If that did not work, then inflate it orally. Once you have them safely on the surface, the true emergency is pretty much over. There is no need to over exert yourself trying to fight a sinking diver.

I'm sorry you feel bad about this incident, but the fact remains that if the diver was a little bit heavier, you would not have been able to support her enough to do the rescue...

Well I guess maybe you being critical will make me think more, god forbid, this happens again. I have to say though that it sounds like you have never been in the same situation as you think I shouldn't have had to over exert myself. That's just ridiculous.

If I had it to do over again I would have told her to get her BP/W waist and butt straps off while I held her up but it's not always clear to do in the heat of the moment unless you have been there which from your last comment I have to assume you haven't even though you have 25 times my dives.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Well I guess maybe you being critical will make me think more, god forbid, this happens again. I have to say though that it sounds like you have never been in the same situation as you think I shouldn't have had to over exert myself. That's just ridiculous.

If I had it to do over again I would have told her to get her BP/W waist and butt straps off while I held her up but it's not always clear to do in the heat of the moment unless you have been there which from your last comment I have to assume you haven't even though you have 25 times my dives.

Glad you are thinking about the situation. BTW. if she was in so much trouble that you had to try to protect her airway, it is doubtful that she would have been able to do much of anything to assist in her rescue. Certainly, inflation of the BC would be less complicated than removal of the unit (by you or her). I would tell her to inflate the BC, if I thought she could and if she didn't/couldn't I would have tried to do so.

Also, I have had to drag many people back out of the water and over to a dive ladder after they panicked at (or just below) the surface. I will instinctively go for the inflator on a scuba diver on the surface. It sounds like you saved her, so I wouldn't feel bad about it.

 

[dive_turkey]

+1 on what everyone else has said concerning your feelings and other's criticisms. Screw it, +5! The "should/could of" conversation is important, but not on this thread, which is about the way you feel.

What you're feeling is perfectly normal. You may find yourself replaying the event over and over in your head, wondering what you could have done differently, better, not done, etc... You also will probably find yourself feeling more vulnerable and wondering if you (another human) could end up in that same situation.

Just remember, YOU SAVED THE LIVES OF TWO PEOPLE IN DISTRESS. That's all that matters at this point, and that is a very admirable thing to have accomplished.

Your feelings are perfectly acceptable, and you're also very brave to share them here. I would however suggest that you speak with a professional counselor if you find that you are continuing to dwell on this.

Good on you for what you did! Hope you get to feeling better about the whole thing.

 

[Crass3000]

Thanks for all your kind words. I want to publically apologize to DumpsterDiver as some of what I said that was deleted by mods was out of line and not cool AT ALL. I'm just in a weird place right now and he struck a nerve but brought up some good ideas. Unfortunately I just wasn't strong enough to do what you had suggested. Maybe that's why it hit a nerve so hard. Not sure if you remember but I have terminal cancer so I'm not as strong as I once was. I'm not sure if it would have mattered anyhow but all I can say is I did my best. I didn't have the strength to do what you mentioned nor did I think of some of what you said. Once again, I'm sorry. It took everything I had to do what I did. I just couldn't keep all that weight up and do anything else. They both lived though so I think that's what's important.

And I DID have to protect her airway. I got her up for a breath while kicking upward and had to let her down to kick toward the shore. I agree if she had not been in control of her airway that would have been different but it was a team effort so to speak.

I am sort of surprised that some people are critical when if I had not acted, two people would have died. Not sure where that is coming from. I guess I'll be more ready the next time. I'm typically a solo diver and not used to watching out for other people.

I sincerely wished I had my equipment on but it wasn't the case. I was just cooling off before I put my BP/W on. The timing of all this was crazy and that's why it's such a trip. I never dive that site and normally ALWAYS dive a different part of the lake. This was actually the first time I dove that side of the lake with one exception.

 

[DandyDon]

Crass, good for you for calling out the Monday morning quarterbacks. You made the call and you saved a life. You were there! I truly hope you feel better soon, you don't deserve to feel bad. You deserve back pats and handshakes all around.

Yeah, you did better than I could have I'm sure. I wouldn't have known how to turn on manifold valves if I knew that was the cause, and farting around with orally inflating a bladder on a wing when I have no experience with those would have been a scary attempt when every second counted. I'm impressed even if it's no unanimous here. :medal:

I wonder if the husband's tone & attitude left a sneaky effect on you, when he told you to leave him alone while you were trying to save him from himself? I think you should be damned proud and telling the story with more pride.

 

[miked]

+1 on what everyone else has said concerning your feelings and other's criticisms. Screw it, +5! The "should/could of" conversation is important, but not on this thread, which is about the way you feel.

What you're feeling is perfectly normal. You may find yourself replaying the event over and over in your head, wondering what you could have done differently, better, not done, etc... You also will probably find yourself feeling more vulnerable and wondering if you (another human) could end up in that same situation.

Just remember, YOU SAVED THE LIVES OF TWO PEOPLE IN DISTRESS. That's all that matters at this point, and that is a very admirable thing to have accomplished.

Your feelings are perfectly acceptable, and you're also very brave to share them here. I would however suggest that you speak with a professional counselor if you find that you are continuing to dwell on this.

Good on you for what you did! Hope you get to feeling better about the whole thing.

Said far better than I could have said it. And to those posters "gifted" with the "20-20 hindsight"-that's not the focus of this thread.

Far too often, the victim(s) get all the attention/concern they need and deserve, and the rescuers are left to their own devices, perhaps with an "attaboy" and a pat on the back. Those are all well and good, and well deserved, but what about the psyches of those rescuers? I think that too often they are overlooked.
Crass, please put forth the same effort to help yourself, or to get the help, that you put forth in helping the other 2. people.

 

[Crass3000]

I wonder if the husband's tone & attitude left a sneaky effect on you, when he told you to leave him alone while you were trying to save him from himself?

Ironically I was trying to take his BP/W off and only had the butt strap left. I said we gotta get the butt strap off. The guy couldn't talk because he was hyperventilating so bad but he had the breath to yell that it was a crotch strap -- not a butt strap. It was odd. They both also had their 7 ft hose all wound up and tied to the side of one of their tanks which lead them not to be able to use his long hose to help her because they couldn't get it out to use.

---------- Post added September 7th, 2013 at 04:55 AM ----------

Also, I have had to drag many people back out of the water and over to a dive ladder after they panicked at (or just below) the surface. .

Would I be wrong to assume you had some sort of BC or BP/W on with tanks and you weren't just in your wetsuit without fins by a huge drop off?

 

[DandyDon]

Ironically I was trying to take his BP/W off and only had the butt strap left. I said we gotta get the butt strap off. The guy couldn't talk because he was hyperventilating so bad but he had the breath to yell that it was a crotch strap -- not a butt strap. It was odd. They both also had their 7 ft hose all wound up and tied to the side of one of their tanks which lead them not to be able to use his long hose to help her because they couldn't get it out to use.

I have a hunch that these people have more money than training. Thanks for sharing the story and talking it over with us - which is also a good way to deal with post incident stress, or so I've been taught. I hope he's man enough to look you up and thank you, but I'd doubting it.

 

[Crass3000]

I have a hunch that these people have more money than training. Thanks for sharing the story and talking it over with us - which is also a good way to deal with post incident stress, or so I've been taught. I hope he's man enough to look you up and thank you, but I'd doubting it.

Ironically they said they were trained for tri-mix. Probably pretty good divers that just had a bad day and for some reason decided to tie their 7 footers up on the side of the tank. Never saw anything like that but I'm a rooky. The hoses on the side of the tanks were pretty telling that they were sure of themselves and thought everything was going to go well. Just goes to show anybody can have a bad day and nobody should take a dive litely. They were old divers and had been diving for YEARS. They mentioned they had got into dry suits ten years ago. Not sure how often they dived though.

Really though... I guess the hose routing was weird. I don't think anybody who was forward looking would have tied them up that way. I'm just a rookie as I've said but careful divers would have never done that.