Spinal Cord DCS experience?

[DandyDon]

About 8% of SB members don't feel dive insurance is worth it according to my very unscientific poll, but most of them are probably not solely vacation divers: http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=119325

Yes, remember the poll. Since you did include "other" as a choice, it might have given a good reflection. I know of one diver from my Utila trip who was completely covered by his work insurance - really, and had a credit card with huge limits to tide him over until claims could be processed.

Some vacation divers think that the $10,000 coverage on their Trip ins is plenty, but of course - it ain't.

It is surprising that Hanging did not know, but then - I guess it is indeed possible. Gotta' get the word out to the rest of the diving community, about DAN and ScubaBoard.com both.

Hanging, I do hope that your medical coverage does a good job for you, and it sounds like your hubby is the sort of survivor type who will make a good recovery. Certainly hope so. "Critical Incident Stress" is a possibly time delayed risk for you both, too; hope you're both communicating freely about the accident other than here. But keep coming back here - we're here for you. Hope to see your hubby on here, too.

 

[*Floater*]

It is surprising that Hanging did not know, but then - I guess it is indeed possible. Gotta' get the word out to the rest of the diving community, about DAN and ScubaBoard.com both.

To be honest I had seen dive insurance mentioned and heard about during my vacations but didn't think much of it (or DCS for that matter) until I started reading this section of scubaboard. Since some dive agencies want to present scuba diving as a safe, fun activity they often neglect to properly address the dangers of diving in my experience.

 

[SharkLover]

I am so sorry to hear this, I pray that everything turns out for the best. This could have happened to anyone given this condition.

After my initial shock the first thing that came to my mind that it wasn't the dive itself. Some take aways are:

1) Have dive insurance.
I use Dan and believe in them.
2) Be acutely aware of the meds that you take and their side affects
I use both a motion sickness pill and a shot of Afrin before I
dive and have never had an issue. I made sure to check with
Dan first before I used these in diving.

Hi All,

My husband has spinal cord DCS as a result of a dive last Monday. He is 42 and in excellent health, although he does have asthma. He dove safely within the limit. He used a bronchial dilalator (albuterol) just before the dive. I don't have his dive profile handy, but from what I recall he dove @80 ft. maximum depth for 20 minutes, 3 minute saftey stop, dive time was @30 minutes.

He finished the dive last Monday @3:00. When he got off the boat he felt a little queezy. By the time he rinsed off his wetsuit (@30 minutes after the dive) he felt a pain in his neck for @1 minute. It then went away. Immediately after, he began having difficulty walking. He went to the hotel, slept for an hour, woke up, started to work on his computer and began to feel numbness and tingling, @6:30. Saw hotel doc @8:00. The doctor said it was high blood pressure caused by a side effect of a sea sickness patch he had worn for the first time.

He disreagarded the doctor's diagnosis, left the hotel by 9:00. He arrived at the chamber @10:00. At that point he was shaking when he walked. He did a 4.5 hour chamber session. By the time he completed the session, he couldn't walk. He went back to the hotel, slept, then checked into a hospital in Santo Domingo by 8:00 am Tuesday.

The hospital did a catscan, gave him vitamin B12, and muscle relaxants.
The catscan didn't show any problems. He was still numb, tingling, shaking and inable to walk.

He left the hospital the next afternoon, Wednesday, in order to get on a 3:00 flight home to California. He arrived into SF @9:30pm. By 10:30 we were in the Stanford Hospital ER. He was admitted using a wheelchair.

Thursday: The Neuro team at Stanford performed many tests, most importantly, a spinal MRI. The MRI showed lesions on his spinal cord. He has been given huge quantities of intravenous steroids to reduce inflammation and valium for spasticity.

Friday: The diagnosis is most likely spinal DCS. Although very anxious and uncomfortable, he is in good spirits. He has shuffled around the hospital with a walker for a total of @1 mile.

It is now Saturday. He still has parathesis and girdle-like pain. He is now using one crutch to get around. He walks slowly and purposefully with the crutch. He needs to think about every step. He is off of the IV and is taking oral prednisone and valium.

At this point I'm looking for (and sympathize with) anyone with this experience. We are wondering what to expect next. Also, any constructive recommendations are welcome.

My husband and I had been divers for @15 years and have done @150 dives.

 

[Lorellei]

I hope and pray for a speedy recovery for your husband's health and your peace of mind.

Did your husband perform any type of physical activity prior to the dive? Yard work, working out at the gym, running, hard swimming?

I know of a similar situation and the diver had done some serious yard work the day prior to his dive. Please private message me and I will give you more details.

(I am new to all this and get lost -- so if you private message me, I can find the message. Also, I will find out more details for you.) -L

 

[DandyDon]

(I am new to all this and get lost -- so if you private message me, I can find the message. Also, I will find out more details for you.) -L

Private Messaging (PMing) can take new members a while to learn, which is why I keep a link in my Sig so SB newbies can more easily contact me for help around here.

Since you're both new here, tho - let me give you a short cut here:
(1) Move your cursor to the other member's UserName on a post and click;
(2) There find a pulldown menu of options and select Send Private Message.

PM me if I might help additionally.