Temporary unable to use left arm, solutions so I can still dive?

[mark00020]

i was actually laughing, just poking out sentences w/ one hand makes me sound short.

I wasn't going in w/o doc's approval, or going in before I've got full range back. i read for this fracture (proximal humerus, surgical neck, two part, no displacement, less than 45 deg angular rotation) you can get full range back by 4 weeks. now, I've been to pt for my knee and foot, i know full range means yeah you can move it but it hurts to do. I can dive safely w/ help (gearing up) and i'll be able to use the arm in an emergency quite well (I've used broken, unfixed, limbs in emergencys. I've got a good tolerance for pain) I won't be on meds, I'm allergic to opiates. I made it through 3 surgeries w/o them... I heal fast and try hard at pt and do well there too.

so, i welcome the humor... but suggestions from someone that is actually 1 armed diving was more what i was after. i also appreciate the concern for my well being and I'm going to evaluate the return to diving carefully. I just feel like i need to do it. diving is my stress release, I don't have any demons down there. w/o it... I'm stressed out

 

[KrisB]

I notice that the one piece of advice that seems to be lacking surround everybody's biggest concern: gearing up.

When you are ok'd to go back in the water, consider putting the gear on IN THE WATER. This will almost certainly be less strain on your shoulder, though will require a helpful buddy.

 

[Walter]

I wouldn't try to dive in MA with that injury because I'd be afraid of reinjuring my arm while putting on my wet (dry) suit. If you were to come to Florida, I'd consider it. I'd dive the warm water without a wet suit. I would not put my arm through the BC, but leave it in a sling inside the BC. I would reconfigure my reg so my SPG is on the right side. I can see some issues climbing the ladder and removing fins, but they shouldn't be that big of a challenge with some forethought and planning, perhaps a little assistance from a buddy until you have techniques worked out. On a beach dive, balance will be your major issue.

 

[pasley]

Lots of interesting advice and some good advice here. IMHO there are points to ponder before you get wet including but not limited to:
1. Jacques Cousteau was paralyzed in one arm when he invented the Aqualung. So was Jim Gatacre the founder of Handicapped SCUBA Association and author of adaptive dive qualification standards. It is why HSA exist. There are many divers with one arm are or arm with impairment of some sort.
2. Get your doctors clearance and possibly a prescription to go diving as part of your PT - good exercise and the water does great things.
3. There may be non-dive related issues to consider (Disability check, pending legal issues if any, etc) being affected by your activities is a valid point that needs to be considered.
4. Growth of bone under pressure....not a lot known there. That could be a factor or not, no one knows for certain. Something to consider.
5. Do a supervised check out dive complete with skills (remove & replace mask under water, share air) in a pool with a qualified adaptive diving instructor (HSA or IAHD) to determine
a) your comfort level, does it hurt you to be in gear in the water (gear up in pool) etc
b) your comfort level on your skills. How are you going to do things? How will it work? The pool under qualified supervision is the place to work that out including emergency drills and gear configuration.
c) evaluate before hand the pressures, pulls, tuggs. pushing etc you will be putting on the shoulder while doning and removing the wetsuit or drysuit and other gear. You may need help to put it on. Someone pulling at the shoulder on the wetsuit while another person blows into the cuff at the wrist to inflate the entire arm (ok we know the jokes are comming, go ahead) helps.
6. Have someone else handle your gear for you, to save the shoulder. Leave the macho behind and let them do it for you while you are healing and for a time after. Don't rush it. Bones take time to come up to full strength again, as will the muscle and other things that were damages and/or disturb by the accident and/or surgery.
7. If you have a right shoulder dump valve, you may be able to switch the inflater hose. If you have a port on the first stage open on the right this would be easy. If you have to remain on the left with the port, then routing and length of hose becomes a factor. But this may not even be an issue as you may be fine doing the cross chest with the right arm.
8. Putting on your mask under water or above with one arm is simple. Place mask on face, clear mask, inhale slightly, mask is now glued to your face with water pressure or vacuum (above water), let go of mask and position strap. Simple. But it does take a little practice.
9. Gearing up in the water makes sense to me.
10. As for being useless as a dive buddy....I know a diver, no legs, one arm, he does just fine. But you should evaluate your current ability to do a rescue. Can you do a rescue, donate air, tired buddy tow, recuse breathing on surface? With practice you may be able to, but be certain you practice this as one arm drill in a pool and can do so without pain and safely. If you cannot safely rescue your buddy, then you need to recognize you are not going to be responsible for rescuing your buddy and that your buddy needs to bring along a dive buddy. In short, you would dive in a three person team.
11. Evaluate if this is a temporary medical problem or a long term/permanent one. Shoulders can take a long time to heal. Recovery from rotator cuff surgery takes a long time because of all the disturbed muscle and tissue and that is without a broke bone, If it is temporary, you may be well served staying dry and waiting it out as the smart choice.

The above is IMHO and does not constitute legal, medical or competent advice and should not be relied upon for any dive or medical decision. I am only raising issues to ponder. The decision to dive or not to dive is yours and yours alone.

I understand wanting to get back into the water as soon as possible. As you said, there aren't any deamons there.

 

[miketsp]

Assuming you can overcome the physical issues to actually execute the dive you should also dive extremely conservative profiles as the usual profiles won't apply if you have significant areas of tissues/bone that are healing. (bubble formation and diffusion processes).

 

[pasley]

Miketsp,
Good point.

 

[Walter]

Jacques Cousteau was paralyzed in one arm when he invented the Aqualung.

Emile Gagnon invented the Aqualung.

 

[pasley]

Emile Gagnon invented the Aqualung.

You get half credit. Emile Gagnon and Jacques Cousteau invented it together while he was on leave recovering from the automobile accident that left him paralyzed in one arm and the other arm badly broken and infected to the point the doctors recommended amputation, which Cousteau refused.

 

[Walter]

Nope. Gagon was working on an automobile regulator. He modified it at Cousteau's request. They shared the patent, but Gagnon invented it.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

You both are right about Cousteau and Gagnan--they both invented it. Gagnan had invented a regulator which fed autos natural gas; Cousteau asked him to apply it to an underwater breathing apparatus, which Gagnan did. But it didn't work correctly--it free flowed in certain positions. Cousteau worked out the pressure differences, and figured out that there should be a second, return hose for the exhaust to come back to the regulator diaphragm to ensure that the exhaust did not create a water pressure differential, and free flow. This was the basis of the Cousteau-Gagnan patent, the exhalation hose and valve at the diaphragm, as the actual regulator had already been invented and patented. So this truely was a combined effort by the two of them. This description is in Cousteau's The Silent World.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Émile_Gagnan

Concerning diving with this injury and repair to the shoulder, I would suggest, actually highly suggest, that no open water dives be done. Stay in a pool, where the water temperature is warm and the water fairly deep (10-15 feet). Then have your buddy handle the scuba--don't put it on your back. Use a regulator with a long hose, a J-valve, and a regulator with only the second stage and long hose on it. Don't use a BC; don't use a wet suit. If you want, when you get underwater, you can handle the scuba with only your good arm, holding it out in front of you in a streamlined position. I have experimented with this for underwater swimming, and it works quite well. Finswimmers use it all the time to race underwater (Google "Finswimming" on You Tube if you want to see some of it).

Take care of the shoulder and let it mend. The air under pressure may actually help the healing process by giving the cells more oxygen. But don't push it until the doctor says it is healed and you have strength back in it, as there are many unexpected things happening in open water and it could be re-injured.

I had to do this about five years ago after a bicycle accident left me with some vertigo, and I had to take it very easy to get back into the pool. Then tell the lifeguard about your problems (I did coming back to swimming), so (s)he can watch over things. Have your buddy handle the scuba into and out of the water. Just get down there, weightless and without encumberances, and enjoy it. Try to use a stairway to enter and exit, rather than a ladder, as even lifting your own weight out of the water could cause some problems with an injury like this.

SeaRat