Trip Report Why I Won't Be Returning to Cozumel-Part 1,2&3
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Carlos Diver
Contributor
Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)
TEE test is simple enough. They give you a little versed to calm you down and slide a camera/probe down your esophagus. You dont even get put to sleep.
TEE test is simple enough. They give you a little versed to calm you down and slide a camera/probe down your esophagus. You dont even get put to sleep.
So you accepted "skin bend" is nothing serious.
As for DAN:
https://www.danap.org/_pdf/DAN-Fast-Facts-DCI.pdf
Hats off to you and the dive op for handling the mixup here on SB so well. That had um ... potential.
I was surprised and disappointed to read the hospital was so non-responsive at first, and then so lax about getting an ambulance to you. If you were truly in trouble you may not have had the opportunity to write this trip report. We have a friend who did NOT have a DCS hit, but symptoms were suspicious while on the boat. There was a CostaMed ambulance waiting when we got back to the dock, and her whole experience was very good, from beginning to end. Your unnamed nurse needs to be reported. I remember telling a doc that a resident should go into pathology because they had no business being in the room with a live patient (they had just been working with my mom while she was dying in the hospital). I still have extremely bitter feelings about that woman. I hope your nerve pain clears up quickly. Maybe someone here has some ideas how to speed the recovery - or maybe your GP?
Regarding the reef, I guess I'm not seeing what you're seeing. We were in Grand Cayman in 2019 and have since been to Roatan, the Keys and back to Cozumel several times, and we think Coz delivers good diving consistently. We've only been diving since 2010, and I suspect people who were diving 20 or 30 years ago have memories of much healthier reef. We also dove the Exumas (2005?), which looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off and they still hadn't recovered. So maybe our expectations just aren't as high?
Bottom line, you know what you like - and add this horrific hospital experience and it seems this has changed how you will spend your dive dollars in the future. Lots of wonderful places out there to see. And there are areas opening up slowly. Dang covid.
I was surprised and disappointed to read the hospital was so non-responsive at first, and then so lax about getting an ambulance to you. If you were truly in trouble you may not have had the opportunity to write this trip report. We have a friend who did NOT have a DCS hit, but symptoms were suspicious while on the boat. There was a CostaMed ambulance waiting when we got back to the dock, and her whole experience was very good, from beginning to end. Your unnamed nurse needs to be reported. I remember telling a doc that a resident should go into pathology because they had no business being in the room with a live patient (they had just been working with my mom while she was dying in the hospital). I still have extremely bitter feelings about that woman. I hope your nerve pain clears up quickly. Maybe someone here has some ideas how to speed the recovery - or maybe your GP?
Regarding the reef, I guess I'm not seeing what you're seeing. We were in Grand Cayman in 2019 and have since been to Roatan, the Keys and back to Cozumel several times, and we think Coz delivers good diving consistently. We've only been diving since 2010, and I suspect people who were diving 20 or 30 years ago have memories of much healthier reef. We also dove the Exumas (2005?), which looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off and they still hadn't recovered. So maybe our expectations just aren't as high?
Bottom line, you know what you like - and add this horrific hospital experience and it seems this has changed how you will spend your dive dollars in the future. Lots of wonderful places out there to see. And there are areas opening up slowly. Dang covid.
That sounds... uncomfortable. What is the treatment for it?
tmassey
Contributor
Leaving the condescension out of it, I just want to reiterate: any kind of “bend”, including “skin bends” are not normal, and should not be accepted as part of diving. There are lots of us who have done hundreds or even thousands of dives, without any kind of symptoms. And that includes multiple times a day for multiple days; crazy deep with lots of deco; aggressive computer settings; etc…
if you are having any kind of identifiable DCS symptoms, I would suggest two things: one, talk to DAN immediately. Two, figure out what might have contributed to cause them, and change it.
And if your profiles are well within a reputable computer’s profile, talk to DAN and see if you can find a doctor who specializes in scuba medicine. You may have some underlying medical condition, such as a PFO, that may be contributing to your situation.
But don’t just ignore it, or accept it, or think that it happens to everybody, or label it as a “undeserved hit“ and move on. It doesn’t just happen to anyone. And you can probably avoid it, too.
OK, i’ll climb off my soapbox now.
To make it as clear as I can, I am in no way looking down on the original poster or anyone else. I just want to encourage people to not ignore even “small” symptoms. There are actual things that can be done.
Bear in mind too that not all cutaneous DCS or “skin bends” are created equal. Unless the theories have changed over the past few years there are two forms, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is considered less serious, does not progress and is not associated with PFOs (that’s not to say a tested diver would not have a PFO given the distribution in the general public).
Scared Silly
Contributor
Like any hole you do not want stuff to go through , you patch it. Gore makes a PFO patch: GORE® CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder for PFO Closure
this should be on a tshirt
So, heart surgery? Heart surgery, even up through the femoral vein, is expensive, uncomfortable, and at least somewhat risky. But do not worry; I won't be making any serious medical decisions based on what I read in a dive forum.
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