what are your scuba battle scars..mental and physical

[SeaGurl]

LOL..that reminds me of my first backward roll.

Mental embarrassment: My first giant stride off a dive boat. My instructor goes in first. I'm ready to go, the boat rolls as I go to step off, and caused me to lose my balance. It took me several minutes to finally jump. The exit off this boat was about 8 feet (I think). Once I took that first step and got in the water, I thought OMG, what was the big deal? I felt like such a "dufis."
For someone who does high falls as stunts and WAS afraid of doing a giant stride off a boat, makes me feel pretty embarrassed.

 

[Buddha64]

No major physical scars, outside of on my shins from unruly boat ladders.

I do have a mental scar from a speedo incident on a dive boat in Coz. Some guy wearing the infamous speedos was "letting in all hang out" (literally) on the way out to the dive site.

LOL I know what you mean, I was in Bonaire earlier this year. 60ish 5'10"ish 275lbs and he had on a speedo thong. I almost choked on my Margarita.

 

[sybernut]

No physical scars (yet)... just a 'bad' (good!) experience of getting certified in the ocean in San Diego in January and having to brave strong surf and low visibility in cold water... and taking a 'near breath' underwater from my snorkel instead of my reg in choppy water (this proved to me that I probably won't drown in THIS way)... and watching the person ahead of me flapping on an anchor line like a flag in the wind on a wreck dive... all ultimately 'good' experiences which prob. pale in comparison with others here... nevertheless...

 

[The Chairman]

Nitrox class without Math or Tables... OK? Bwahahahaha! Found only on :sblogo:

 

[Puffer Fish]

Ok - physical -

1. Lots of scare tissue inside my head from various crushed/damaged air cavities in the head.
2. I can blow air out of my tear ducts (tore the membrane between the nose and the eyes)
3. Really nasty alergy to some types of jellies, from being stung so often.
4. Lots of fire coral and rock rash scars.

Mental:

1. Every open ocean rescue has left me with nightmares (11 of them). Even though they were all successful.
2. Was drowned as a practice victim during instuctor school - not fun memory.
3. Having to do accident reports on every dive event for three years - 7 death, and 30 or so close calls.


Other than that, nothing.

 

[BarryNL]

Hmm, I'm too careful I guess. Apart from a couple of blood blisters from careless closing of the tank strap I'm still waiting for my first scar.

Now, if only I could say the same for some of my other hobbies...

 

[RiverRat]

My right ear has not been the same after diving congested. Yep, I was too stubborn and pushed throught it on a dive trip. I squeezed my ear and got a bad infection when I got back home. My ENT noticed that I had a healed rupture in the right drum that had healed. I'm thinking it either ruptured from fluid pressure (common) or it ruptured when I was diving (which would explain why I suddenly had no more problems, I equalized by ruturing it and didn't realize it) In any event I've noticed that my hearing on the right side is somewhat muffled, not as "crisp" as the left and the volume is definately diminished. I'm guessing maybe 30% or so. I get fluid buildup sometimes in my ears so it's either that or permanent. But at this point I'm starting to think the latter.

Let that be a lesson to anyone that wants to push through a trip with a cold, don't do it, you will screw something up.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

In Hawaii wearing a shorty, my knee brushed up against a rock or something and I got this half dollar sized rash/irritation; itched like a mosquito bite and didn't go away for 4 months. got myself stuck by an urchin, didn't feel great.

Mental: My son was doing his pool work in OW and I was his buddy, was using my old sherwood brut regs, I was only 2-3 ft deep and right by the ledge, but took a breathe and in came alot of water, the reg has simply slipped right out of the mouthpiece. Freaked me out; but I learned to expect the unexpected and now I am admittedly overly anal about checking my mouthpiece before I dive, and change the zip ties after every trip.

 

[Spectre]

can't beat chickdiver....

but:

after having my achilles re-attached.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

I could've done without seeing that....ouch