South African Diver Bent On Remote South East Asian Island

[XXXL]

T Submariner, you mis understood it, or I failed to explain it correctly. I have DAN family membership for both me & the wife covered to a depth of 40m, but then I pay the extra to cover just me (preferred) for no depth limit as long a sit is within my training.
This was arranged through DAN South east Asia, out of Australia.

They also cover you for non diving accidents as long as it is more than 50 miles from your postal address.
My freind found this out when he had a car crash in Thailand & ended up in hospital.

 

[DandyDon]

T Submariner, you mis understood it, or I failed to explain it correctly. I have DAN family membership for both me & the wife covered to a depth of 40m, but then I pay the extra to cover just me (preferred) for no depth limit as long a sit is within my training.
This was arranged through DAN South east Asia, out of Australia.

They also cover you for non diving accidents as long as it is more than 50 miles from your postal address.
My freind found this out when he had a car crash in Thailand & ended up in hospital.

I thot that was what you meant, but since you posted it here - I'd like to discuss that. If it is the same coverage as we have in the US, then you have the cheapest Standard plan as Ted mentioned - which is a lot more than nothing, a lot more than Julia had, but not nearly as much as the next plan or the top...

For those without coverage, DAN offers their most basic plan for $25 a year which provides up to $45,000 in coverage for decompression illnesses and $35 a year for a plan covering all dive injury expenses with a $125,000 lifetime max. Even if you only dive a few times a year, or less, it's well worth getting before your next trip.

Compare DAN Membership Plans

I should also note, while most of us have private medical insurance, many plans don't cover dive accidents and those that do may only cover medical expenses (not transportation to the medical facility). Be sure to check your insurance before assuming you're well covered.

The Standard Plan...

• Covers Decompression Illness, but NOT Other Dive Injury Medical Expense;
• Does NOT cover extra transportation expenses*, accomodations, or lost diving equipment;
• Does NOT cover Medical Non-Dive Accident Coverage;
• Does NOT cover Diving Vacation Cancellation or Interruption;
• And some other exclusions...!

The next plan up does cover some of those, the top plan all of those. It's your call but did you realize all that? Embolisms not covered, drowning not covered, other injuries not covered?

* DAN membership, not the insurance, does cover emergency evacuation under Taveler Assist, if you're 50 miles or more from home, arrange it thru them in advance, and other requirements - but I dove with a lady a year ago who did two easy dives as my buddy, then a third with another buddy while I napped, then took a horrible hit for still unknown reasons. When she was finally released from the Miami hospital, DAN arranged special Amtrak accommodations for her return home and two nurses to travel with her. Nice!

Another guy left another group I was in last year for heart surgery, and when he got out of the hospital - DAN took care of his extra travel needs as well.

 

[MartianBeerPig]

"The alternative was to climb a really high tree, which I tried but lost my nerve halfway up. I could also have gone to the tower through a stiflingly hot mosquito-infested forest, but I didn't feel up to it."

She used a phone, borrowed from the Swiss dive resort manager because when leaving South Africa she had activated 'roam-on' but unknowingly blocked her phone's ability to make or receive calls.

I'm a little surprised that she had to borrow a phone from the dive resort manager and then make her own way to somewhere with reception. You'd think the dive resort manager would firstly, know who to call within the area and secondly, make the call for her. I'd like to know which resort she was at so I can avoid going there. The article says the island is three hours from the 'Indonesian mainland' - I'm not entirely certain which island is the 'mainland'.

I know there are hyperbaric chambers in Bali, Jakarta and Manado. The nearest DAN chambers are in either Singapore (west) or Manila (east).

 

[MartianBeerPig]

I think it pays to check with resorts on their emergency plans. Some of these places are pretty remote - others are poorly managed. Doesn't hurt to have your own contingency plan.

 

[JB]

I am a little alarmed at the evacuation plan. Could someone verify that the risk of an airliner flight (cabin pressure ~8000ft) for three hours is justified by the benefits of a decompression chamber some 12 hours (I'm guessing) after the incident. It would seem to me that the bent diver should have lay down quietly in the shade breathing O2 or nitrox if possible, while the other divers/dm etc. climbed trees! I wonder if the evacuation exacerbated the condition? Common sense would tell me that a surface evacuation to a place with 100% O2, would have been the best compromise.
Nice to hear a "boer maak a plan" story, with a reasonable outcome!

 

[DandyDon]

I don't know that there were other divers on the island? I think the resources were very limited, and it seemed like there were few alternatives, no medical facilities at all, resort manager didn't know about diving, etc.

She said she had been diving on the Indonesian mainland before travelling to the island, three hours away, by boat. There she began experiencing symptoms, and there was no one on the island to ask for medical advice.

Not that Indonesia has a mainland; you often have to make do with info in news stories.

Yeah, it would seem prudent to get back to the diving community for help, backtracking 3 hours by boat - but maybe not feasible? Or maybe a bad call...??