robint
Contributor
So... its been a crazy diving life for me! After 19 yrs as a diver, I have found the past 10 years have been eventful medically.
10 yrs ago... uterine cancer, cured, cleared to dive again.
6 yrs ago.... mitral valve prolapse... surgically repaired minimally invasively. cleared to dive again.
6 yrs ago.... diagnosed with lupus, cleared to dive as long as non-symptomatic.
1 yr ago... had total knee replacement of right knee. Totally uneventful as far as I know.... but found I was out of breath just doing normal activities. As an avid hiker (like 5-10 miles per week, at altitude in mountains) this was very distressful. Tests revealed I now have a paralyzed left diaphragm. Doc says there is nothing to do about it. Specialist says its probably been like that since heart surgery, their fault, I call BS. No way I could do the things I have done, including backpacking thru Grand Canyon if that were true.
To say I am devastated is an understatement. Diving was something my husband and I have done together for 19 yrs, around the world, dive dive dive. I figured I had to cut back a few years ago, I just get too tired after even doing 2 dives per day back to back on a trip... so I had started to limit my diving to only 1 or 2 dives a day, maybe 3-4 days on a trip.
So now what???
... my husband is feeling okay about diving alone, though he did it last week while we were on a cruise and said he really missed me as his buddy as he knows me and what to expect. Having to dive with a stranger was hard for him.
So we want to know.... since air tanks are delivering air to you, what would be the affect for me? I am trying to wrap my head around the physics of this, and it seems like maybe it wouldn't be an issue for me to do a shallow dive at all. I tried to snorkel last April one day on a trip and thought I couldn't breath. But that was floating on top, trying to breathe thru a tube. Thoughts?
Not saying I want to dive again... I am just trying to figure it all out. My doctor's know nothing about diving and rely on me to inform them.
So docs.... here's a new medical condition to ponder today!
robin
10 yrs ago... uterine cancer, cured, cleared to dive again.
6 yrs ago.... mitral valve prolapse... surgically repaired minimally invasively. cleared to dive again.
6 yrs ago.... diagnosed with lupus, cleared to dive as long as non-symptomatic.
1 yr ago... had total knee replacement of right knee. Totally uneventful as far as I know.... but found I was out of breath just doing normal activities. As an avid hiker (like 5-10 miles per week, at altitude in mountains) this was very distressful. Tests revealed I now have a paralyzed left diaphragm. Doc says there is nothing to do about it. Specialist says its probably been like that since heart surgery, their fault, I call BS. No way I could do the things I have done, including backpacking thru Grand Canyon if that were true.
To say I am devastated is an understatement. Diving was something my husband and I have done together for 19 yrs, around the world, dive dive dive. I figured I had to cut back a few years ago, I just get too tired after even doing 2 dives per day back to back on a trip... so I had started to limit my diving to only 1 or 2 dives a day, maybe 3-4 days on a trip.
So now what???
... my husband is feeling okay about diving alone, though he did it last week while we were on a cruise and said he really missed me as his buddy as he knows me and what to expect. Having to dive with a stranger was hard for him.
So we want to know.... since air tanks are delivering air to you, what would be the affect for me? I am trying to wrap my head around the physics of this, and it seems like maybe it wouldn't be an issue for me to do a shallow dive at all. I tried to snorkel last April one day on a trip and thought I couldn't breath. But that was floating on top, trying to breathe thru a tube. Thoughts?
Not saying I want to dive again... I am just trying to figure it all out. My doctor's know nothing about diving and rely on me to inform them.
So docs.... here's a new medical condition to ponder today!
robin
