Ever had to use Rescue training?

[bowlofpetunias]

I am glad Rob's story had a happy outcome. I have always wondered about the statistical likelihood that recovering an unconscious diver found under water will be successful. I fear that the other scenarios I quoted above are more likely, and probably much more likely.

Truth is that non breathing, not responsive victims have fairly low survival chances even when they are not submerged unless a lot of things go right. Just add water and the statistics worsen!

Having O2 and AED on hand help a lot. In the end it is the time it takes to get them to Medical care combined with the condition of the victim that will determine the final outcome.

I've been involved in 2 events I would call rescues.

One panicking in respirator distress on the surface. Wound up stripping her of her gear and getting her to shore. Hardest thing was getting through to her to calm her down. In the end I really think it was a case of someone who really shouldn't be diving due to respirator issues. Positive outcome.

Second involved an unresponsive diver. That one was fairly "text book" search, recovery and CPR but a negative outcome.

While I wouldn't call it a rescue I also had an instabuddy go OOA. I got added to an established buddy pair. The regular buddy wound up oblivious to the fact that the diver was OOA or just didn't care as he powered away from us in rough seas. I wound up staying with the idiot who went OOA while he babbled on about how he had his DM and Rescue Certs and he could tow me in I still had enough gas to do the dive again instead I was fighting the waves as we had to go to a rather unpleasant exit point. He thought the whole situation was quite funny and was quite blase about it. I had a word or two with the Dive organiser about pairing me out with these guys when I found out the had a reputation for this kind of stuff.

 

[Oldbear]

Knock on wood...so far nothing from my Rescue, CRP/AED or O2 courses. Even before I became an instructor I always keep my first responder training current and fresh. Early in my military career I was a medic and used first responder and initial medical treatment more than I care to mention. But I do not take these courses or keep them current for my gratification...it is for the potential individual(s) that might need treatment that I can offer until EMS arrive.

 

[RJP]

I am glad Rob's story had a happy outcome. I have always wondered about the statistical likelihood that recovering an unconscious diver found under water will be successful. I fear that the other scenarios I quoted above are more likely, and probably much more likely.

I had one that had a happy outcome as well. Though she was technically "on the surface" when I got to her, that was only because she had floated up, drifting away from the moored boat at ~2kts, feet sticking straight up out of the water, head sticking straight down, inverted in her drysuit, unconscious, not breathing.

By the time we loaded her into the basket the Coasties had lowered to us... she was bitching and moaning that she was fine and didn't want to go to the hospital. I think she was just trying to get out of tipping us...

 

[DeepSeaDan]

I've been involved in two true emergencies, and neither time was I in the water. Both were people who made it to the surface (or were always on the surface) in severe distress, and had to be removed from the water, gear taken off, and CPR done. Neither survived. Interestingly, in the second case, which involved a student in a class (not our class!), the instructional staff was kind of stunned and paralyzed, and it was our dive club, which had no relationship with them at all, which literally dove in and took over the rescue.

This "stunned and paralyzed" phenomena you describe is not uncommon. As a Rescue Instructor, I strive to create scenarios that work to engender as much "real response" from the student responders as possible, but no amount of creativity on my part can replicate the stressors of an actual incident. It is difficult for an individual to truly know how they will personally react when things go far south, and this reality I discuss with my students. Regular training and practice work to optimize a rescuer's skills capabilities, but again, the reality of this modern busy world, with so many demands on people's time, make such practice unlikely for the majority of trained rescue divers, IMHO.

So... what to do? My suggestion distills down to the all-important role of the "Prime Mover" - the need for someone to step forward, as others step back, and get something happening. This single action will often be all that is needed to snap most people out their initial incident paralysis. Brains start of function, ideas begin to pour forth, and a sense of confidence, however small initially, begins to grow. The proverbial "ball" gets rolling.

It is important to remember there is strength in numbers - no one individual has to be the one with all the answers ( though there are those who, by their nature, training &/or experience are capable of the role of "Incident Commander" - a definite positive in any emergency situation ). With many minds & hands at work you can, as a rescue team, cover most, if not all of the bases necessary, and get the response process moving.

Regards,
DSD

 

[jdg]

I was involved in a few panic situations, but no true rescues.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING i KNOW....... AFTER OW THE RESCUE DIVER COURSE SHOULD COME BEFORE AOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


EDIT: Oh and on my course it was really cool when the guy I was practicing with kicked off my face mask reg, and all. An I got behind him after he walked on me. I got behind him (much smaller than me). An I told him broke back mountain if he did not behave lol

Edit again: Come to think of it my panic situations were a kind of rescue I stopped it from going viral. So Primary stage rescue.

Oh, and did I mention myself starting to get into a panic and counting to 10?

 

[Bob DBF]

Not since I was certified as a Rescue Diver, but I have used the rescue training I received prior to the course. The sooner you can identify a problem and help the better the outcome, once you get to an unresponsive diver the chances for having a good day go way down.

DeepSeaDan
So... what to do? My suggestion distills down to the all-important role of the "Prime Mover" - the need for someone to step forward, as others step back, and get something happening. This single action will often be all that is needed to snap most people out their initial incident paralysis. Brains start of function, ideas begin to pour forth, and a sense of confidence, however small initially, begins to grow. The proverbial "ball" gets rolling.

It is important to remember there is strength in numbers - no one individual has to be the one with all the answers ( though there are those who, by their nature, training &/or experience are capable of the role of "Incident Commander" - a definite positive in any emergency situation ). With many minds & hands at work you can, as a rescue team, cover most, if not all of the bases necessary, and get the response process moving.

I agree with DSD above, and add that you don't have to be an "Incident Commander" to have your rescue slate handy and start reading. Also practice your "command voice", if you tell someone to call 911 in the right tone of voice there will be no discussion, and so on... As I was trained in the Navy, sound the alarm - call for help, otherwise the help will never come. Once you start the process, once you are doing, the training will kick in.




Bob
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That's my point, people, by and large, are not taught that diving can be deadly, they are taught how safe it is, and they are not equipped with the skills, taught and trained to the level required to be useful in an emergency.

 

[mmerriman]

I realize you're asking if we've ever had to rescue someone - but I think the answer to "have you ever had to use rescue training" is yes - on every dive - paying attention to the other divers around me, anticipating problems, and making adjustments before things escalate.

 

[oly5050user]

I realize you're asking if we've ever had to rescue someone - but I think the answer to "have you ever had to use rescue training" is yes - on every dive - paying attention to the other divers around me, anticipating problems, and making adjustments before things escalate.

Was just going to write same exact thing. Best rescue diver is the one who never has to do a rescue or be rescued!

 

[Banyan]

I am glad Rob's story had a happy outcome. I have always wondered about the statistical likelihood that recovering an unconscious diver found under water will be successful. I fear that the other scenarios I quoted above are more likely, and probably much more likely.

I had an instructor who was also an EMT for over a decade who said they considered CPR to be just a way to keep the meat fresh for organ donation. You don't get a real boost in chance of survival until you use an AED. So I would agree that the main benefit of rescue training is increased awareness of concerning situations before a problem emerges.

My (much less dramatic) story: My buddy and I were doing a fairly aggressive shore dive that involved a hike down a cliff and then a long surface swim through surf to the drop down spot. What neither of us knew was that a pebble had gotten lodged in her BCD inflator gasket, so she kept losing buoyancy and couldn't keep the waves from going over the top of her snorkel, so couldn't get a breath without a mouthful of water. I got through the surf and turned to look at her and saw an expression on her face that I later realized was someone on the point of panic from near-drowning. (She does competitive open ocean swims, so this was crazy.) She was mentally so far gone that she had actually forgotten that she had plenty of air available through the scuba equipment, if she would just stick a regulator in her mouth. So I grabbed her, filled my BCD for both of us and we floated until she got her breath back, talked through the fact that she had air through her regs so was not in danger, and we eventually did a very shallow dive back to shore in under the surf. Things could have gone much worse if the surf had been rougher or if I hadn't looked back when I did. So that's when I decided to get some more skills and take a Rescue course.

 

[dallaskincaid]

I had an instructor who was also an EMT for over a decade who said they considered CPR to be just a way to keep the meat fresh for organ donation. You don't get a real boost in chance of survival until you use an AED.

Kinda... An AED will only coax the heart out of an arrhythmia.