Pushing limits in Rescue

[Puzzlement]

I'm certified PADI AOW and planning to do Rescue in October once it's a bit warmer again in Sydney. However, some of the posts here have me a bit worried about the extent to which I'd be required to perform activities with a risk of injury. It's starting to sound like a no holds barred course!

I have a longstanding shoulder injury (a tendency towards subluxation) which will never be entirely rehabilitated. It's not a major disability, but the standard medical advice re activities that aggravate it is "give them up" (hence, I am no longer a martial artist, and can never play tennis, for example). Since it's not a problem with most of the diving range of motion (it's only a problem if I raise my arms well away from my torso: I am very weak with them in the air) diving has not been an issue. So I'd like to know if simply saying to my Rescue class and instructor "please don't yank on my limbs much, and don't haul me around by my right arm" is acceptable. I appreciate that in a true emergency a damaged shoulder socket is better than many alternatives but I'd like not to do it for practice.

 

[ReefHound]

Talk to your would-be instructor about it before the class.

The exercises are only as real and as intense as safety permits. We all have our own limitations. Part of the class is about dealing with them. Having a rescue card doesn't mean you can handle any situation or save any particular victim. If you're a big strong guy approaching a small woman in panic you might just grab her arm, twist her around, and tow her *** to shore. If the roles are reversed, you might have to wait and let them become exhausted. Whatever your limitations, you'll be the better for having taken the course than not.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Welcome to Scubaboard!

I aggree with Reefhound above. Just tell your instructor ahead of time.

 

[DandyDon]

Yep, in fact, you could find specific training on how to deal with a REAL rescue within your limitations. My regular bud hurt a guys groin in our class, and I ripped his wife BC, but these are just learning experiences for the real world.

The injured diver is okay, and we got her BC fixed like new

 

[Puzzlement]

Thanks all. I guess I was just a bit worried by the other recent threads: someone was quite cheerfully saying that they'd put their back out for 5 months, and others were amused by "tiny woman has to haul giant man from surf" images. (I don't have concerns on that front, being fortunate enough to be a giant woman.)

 

[DiveMaven]

We're also doing rescue later this year and I thought the same thing as you about the "tiny woman hauling a giant man from surf" image. Although I'm a pretty sturdy woman, my husband does weigh 220 pounds and I have a history of back problems, so this was something that concerned me as well. I just figured I'd "simulate" pulling him from the surf with him helping, and the instructor would have to accept that since I'm not destroying my back (and the rest of my vacation) for a simulation. A real rescue is an entirely different story.

 

[ReefHound]

I just figured I'd "simulate" pulling him from the surf with him helping, and the instructor would have to accept that since I'm not destroying my back (and the rest of my vacation) for a simulation. A real rescue is an entirely different story.

When it is "real" the name of the game is "whatever it takes". Style counts for nothing. Call for help. Use people around you. Roll the victim sideways. Tie one end of a rope around his *** and the other end to your car and drag him out, if that's the only way you can do it.

But as a rescuer, you are under no obligation to injure yourself or threaten your safety. In fact, your top concern is to avoid becoming a victim yourself. Do what you can.

 

[DandyDon]

When it is "real" the name of the game is "whatever it takes". Style counts for nothing. Call for help. Use people around you. Roll the victim sideways. Tie one end of a rope around his *** and the other end to your car and drag him out, if that's the only way you can do it.

But as a rescuer, you are under no obligation to injure yourself or threaten your safety. In fact, your top concern is to avoid becoming a victim yourself. Do what you can.

Very well said. Why can't I organize my thoughts like that?

Yeah, neither the training nor the real rescues should injure you or put you beyond safe limits. You learn more how to work within those limits, and avoid exceeding them.