Bent in Belize--Blue Hole Incident

[Damselfish]

I only meant to point out a possibility why the OP was bent, but yet others on similar profiles were not.

This one is about way more than just the profile, and it's unclear if other people's profiles were all that similar anyway.

 

[tracydr]

Quite a story. Did you ever consider switching to tables when your computer crapped out? I didn't have a computer for my first 5 years of diving.
I'm very glad you're okay.
i've been meaning to call my insurance (Tricare) to see if they cover chambers. They're usually pretty good about things. My experience with having double insurance coverage is that it ends up screwing things up. (Fubar)
DAN is fantastic trip insurance to have. I just want to know what my health insurance covers. I guess it doesn't really matter, though, going to keep the DAN, anyway.

 

[markmantei]

Thanks for sharing your story, yes you will get beat up a little here but I'm sure you expected that and you know what stupid errors you made.

I have said it before and I'll say it again, knowing when to call a dive, both on the boat predive or in the water, is one of the most important skills a diver should have. No single dive, or dive day, is worth the risk. There's always tomorrow. Yes its more difficult to make those decisions while on a vacation, but often it is more important as you tend to be diving multiple dives over multiple days.

 

[tracydr]

maybe you are not as smart as you think. an engineer should have no problem understanding and using concepts like rnt.

I always say that intelligence has nothing to do with judgement. They are completely separate. Very intelligent people can have terrible judgement.
Please keep in mind, the OP was going through a very stressful life experience with the separation. Perhaps that was effecting the judgement? Maybe not the best time to do agressive diving but often that's the time people actually choose to do agressive things such as climb tall mountains or drive their motorcycles fast. I rode my off-the-track TB frightenly fast in some very rough terrain and over high jumps on foxhunts shortly after separating from my ex-husband. With my neck and the fusion, I have no business riding like that. One fall and i could easily end up a quad.Part of the mental healing process.

 

[Dive Bug Bit Me]

You already know what you did and what you should not have done. But just to recap for the sports fans:
1. Dove beyond recreational limits
2. Dove a DECO dive (and knew it before you started)with out training
3. Dove a borrowed computer for dive two - Did this computer go to the same depth you did on dive 1? So the computer did not have accurate information to give you accurate information on NDL and deco.
4. Did multiple DECO dives without training or proper pre-planning
5. Did a dive with no timing device
6. Did a dive wiht no depth guage
7. Did a dive without using your dive tables to mannually plan the dive and no dive computer to do the calculations for you.
8. Drank alcohol a which contributes to dehydration. Dehydration is increases your risk for DCS
9. Drank a lot of alcohol which mask your sysmptoms of DCS (the pain pill does that too).
10. Did not have proper nutrition for the dive or hydration before you started.

What you did right
1. Called DAN
2. Took the chamber rides - and you are taking all the doctor recommended rides right (I did not and was back in the chamber the next week after a shallow dives to 40 feet. The second time I took all recommended rides)
3. Shared your story with others hummor and candor.

Actually on the what you did wrong section, I would say the planning is where it started to go wrong. Dives that put you in deco need a whole lot more planning than recreational dives. Also most computers are poor at giving you deco profiles for exiting and can be a little on the aggressive side compared to software such as V-planner.

If you actually sat on the surface and looked at a dive plan to those depths with the deco obligation with that tank and equipment, you would rationally have cancelled the dive.

Assuming you did the first deco dive and then looked at your plans for the second and third dives you would have probably just sat them out.

If you neglect the planning and make decisions on the fly while flirting with deco something's gonna happen.

If you had planned your next two dives in terms of what is suitable following a deco dive you would more likely have been fine.

Sitting out both of the subsequent dives would have cost a darn site less than the chamber ride.

I did 5 dives on my blue hole day. My buddy and I were also both back on the boat with more than 50% of our original gas remaining. It can be done safely, but once you are pushing NDL limits advance planning becomes more critical.

 

[fdog]

Wowsers. Thank you for the candid story.


All the best, James

 

[bbarnett51]

Perhaps Im wrong but I find this story hard to believe. If it weren't for the attention to detail I would be convinced you are trolling.

However, If this is real then I'm glad you are ok. I'm not on here to criticize but to learn and have fun. So keep us posted and dive safe!

 

[cruiser]

Get DAN insurance (top level) and do not dawdle. The on-line info, magazine and other benefits are worth it, even if you never file a medical claim.

I am glad you're on the mend and have survived this scary incident. Nothing like first-hand experience to change the way we approach diving and make us more careful.

There's a siren in that warm, gin-clear water of the Caribbean that gives us a false sense of security. It calls us deeper and for longer periods of time...

 

[beaverdivers]

Did you ever consider switching to tables when your computer crapped out?

How do you plug those profiles into a dive table?

 

[redacted]

How do you plug those profiles into a dive table?

extrapolations, best estimates, and approximations keeping track of whether you are on the conservative or liberal side of the 'truth'. sounds better that taking a clean replacement computer for a subsequent dive into deco and then being surprised at the results.