Rescue diver, theory vs practice

[TSandM]

Thank you for taking the time to write this (and it's SO good to see you on ScubaBoard again!).

I have written and argued repeatedly that rescuers should NOT put themselves in harm's way to bring up someone who is unresponsive and not breathing at depth. That said, they certainly SHOULD retrieve the person, do a couple of rescue breaths at the surface, and get the victim to a firm surface where CPR and effective ventilation can be done as quickly as possible.

Until you have EMS on scene to determine that there is no cardiac rhythm, any victim deserves a full attempt at resuscitation. You cannot determine that someone is beyond help in the field (unless there is rigor, or lividity).

It's not entirely clear to me how the snorkeler was "coordinating" things -- I assume he was just keeping track of all the divers? Or was this somewhere where visibility was good enough that he could see them or communicate with them somehow?

We had a very similar situation at a local dive site weekend before last -- The missing diver was found unresponsive, brought up, and resuscitated, but did eventually expire. My husband was DMing a class at the time, and he was concerned about the effect of the event on his students. Did you continue with your class after this, or did you dismiss the students to come back another time?

 

[Darnold9999]

Thanks for posting this, a good reminder that reality is not always as clear cut as a class. Lots of good things to file away.

Have seen passive panic once and it is no surprise that no-one picked up on it. the victim looks perfectly normal, just not acting properly in the particular circumstance - unless you are paying particular attention it is easy to miss.

Does anybody have any checklist - things to look for specifically to pick up on this? I am not sure I would recognize it unless I knew the person involved and could determine that their actions were not normal.

 

[divin'dog]

Awesome post. Hope the diver makes it through.

I had always wondered how well an emergency rescue goes according to what I learned in Rescue class. You made some excellent observations with great insight. I almost think this should be a sticky somehow...

Thanks for the little window into reality.

 

[mpgunner]

Thanks for the detail. Particularly point 8). Observing an unusual situation with divers should raise concern/response in a diving situation. This post would be good to review in a Rescue Diver class.

 

[Diver0001]

It's not entirely clear to me how the snorkeler was "coordinating" things -- I assume he was just keeping track of all the divers? Or was this somewhere where visibility was good enough that he could see them or communicate with them somehow?

He did a few things. I think he initially went into the water to look for the bubbles of the missing diver. In the process he started to chase all other divers who were on the surface out of the water and then grabbed one diver who said he was a DM and was willing to help and called to shore for a buddy for him and then sent this team to go searching. The fact that a second team was formed up so quickly was his doing. When I entered the water he initially told me that the dive area appeared clear except for the first group of rescue divers (big picture), which I knew, but if I hadn't know that it would have been useful information. Before I decended I tipped him to communicate with someone on shore who to go up and down the dive area to make sure that our missing diver hadn't gotten out of the water on his own initiative. It wouldn't have been the first time that the person you were looking for was standing in the crowd watching the action.... When the boat came they also initially reported to the snorkeller, who I believe sent them to where the first ambulance had arrived to go pick up paramedics. I don't know if he told the boat to wait by the shore until called or not but they did, presumably to reduce the chances of another accident involving the rescue divers. The big message here is that he positioned himself as the central point for everything happening in the water. Now that I write this I'm not sure that the fact he was doing this from *in* the water was a key to it working but it certainly helped that someone stood out from the crowd and was basically advertising "look to me".

Did you continue with your class after this, or did you dismiss the students to come back another time?

Well my CA's were the two rescue divers who found the victim. They were in no state to continue diving that day and my head wasn't clear either. Also, my students were immediately clear that they wanted to call it a day too. It wasn't a hard decision to make. I did take them aside and debrief them, explaining what had just happened and answering their questions. I think all of them will want to take the rescue course now.... LOL

R..

 

[NudeDiver]

Having just completed the RD course - this was a timely post for me. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

One thing that came out of our RD open water scenarios is that communication is the key, whether it is between divers doing a rescue, or people on land that are being enlisted to assist, or whatever. Sounds like better communication would have helped in this case too.

Thanks again!
nd

 

[I Dive]

Here is something I don't fully agree with from my RD course. We were taught that if you find an unconcious diver on the bottom, that you want to make sure to hold their reg in their mouth as you surface them. This way, if they do attempt to take a breath, they won't get a mouth full of water and if there HAPPENS to be any air in their tank they can get a breath (expecially as you ascent and air expands). Why not stick your octo in their mouth instead? It will still accomplish the goal of keeping them from swallowing water, but if they do breath, you know for a fact there is air for them to breath. The 5 seconds it would take to do this seems like time well spent to me...

 

[Diver0001]

Here is something I don't fully agree with from my RD course. We were taught that if you find an unconcious diver on the bottom, that you want to make sure to hold their reg in their mouth as you surface them. This way, if they do attempt to take a breath, they won't get a mouth full of water and if there HAPPENS to be any air in their tank they can get a breath (expecially as you ascent and air expands). Why not stick your octo in their mouth instead? It will still accomplish the goal of keeping them from swallowing water, but if they do breath, you know for a fact there is air for them to breath. The 5 seconds it would take to do this seems like time well spent to me...

Well.... *IF* the diver's regulator is still in the mouth you certainly don't want to remove it and risk the victim breathing water if there happens to be any chance that they are still trying to inhale. That could cause you to drown a victim who otherwise might have been a lot easier to resuscitate, I would think.

 

[Diver0001]

Thanks for sharing this hair raising story with us !!!

Maybe it is because I just got Rescue certified 2 months ago, but as I was reading your story, I have noticed some improper procedures in the rescue attempt.

Well throw it out there, then. I'm curious what you noticed.

R..

 

[I Dive]

Well.... *IF* the diver's regulator is still in the mouth you certainly don't want to remove it and risk the victim breathing water if there happens to be any chance that they are still trying to inhale. That could cause you to drown a victim who otherwise might have been a lot easier to resuscitate, I would think.

I should have said "Unconcious with no reg in mouth". But, practically speaking, I don't think there are great odds of someone unconcious still having a reg in their mouth. But, I could be wrong on that. You are right, I would never remove a reg already in someone's mouth.