How Dangerous is Scuba Diving?
- Thread starter Mike Boswell
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eleven posts since you said you were going to end it?
You two are not talking about the same thing. Body parts do wear out. I keep myself in pretty good shape, but I have an artificial knee that has nothing to do with my fitness level. (Actually, my fitness level hay have accelerated the need for it.) You can get coronary artery disease as you age despite your best efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle. Just ask Jim Fixx. (If only you could.)
And, of course, on the flip side, we had George Burns, who commented that many doctors had warned him to quit smoking, quit drinking, etc. because it was bad for his health. He outlived the doctors, and passed away a couple of months after his 100th birthday.
My wife's grandmother was much the same. She was overweight pretty much her entire life, and didn't exactly eat the healthiest of diets. She was, however, an active person (she climbed the pyramids in Mexico when she was in her 70s, and in her late 80s, early 90s, was teaching the other residents of her retirement home how to do the Charleston), and I often joked when it was her time to go, they were going to have to nail the coffin shut, because she would be trying to get out and take care of "just one more thing." Funny story about her - she and a relative would save their nickels all year long for an annual gambling trip to Nevada. One year, a young punk figured this fat old lady would make an easy mark, and tried to snatch her purse. Grandma didn't let go, and instead yanked back and knocked the punk to the ground, where she proceeded to beat the daylights out of him with her purse full of nickels.
Just remember folks - being fat does not necessarily mean weak and out of shape. I think Grandma could have outwalked most of us, and still kicked out butts when she was done. The day she died, she was walking to the cafeteria for a meal. She just basically dropped dead while she was walking. As I recall she was 98 at the time.
My wife's grandmother was much the same. She was overweight pretty much her entire life, and didn't exactly eat the healthiest of diets. She was, however, an active person (she climbed the pyramids in Mexico when she was in her 70s, and in her late 80s, early 90s, was teaching the other residents of her retirement home how to do the Charleston), and I often joked when it was her time to go, they were going to have to nail the coffin shut, because she would be trying to get out and take care of "just one more thing." Funny story about her - she and a relative would save their nickels all year long for an annual gambling trip to Nevada. One year, a young punk figured this fat old lady would make an easy mark, and tried to snatch her purse. Grandma didn't let go, and instead yanked back and knocked the punk to the ground, where she proceeded to beat the daylights out of him with her purse full of nickels.
Just remember folks - being fat does not necessarily mean weak and out of shape. I think Grandma could have outwalked most of us, and still kicked out butts when she was done. The day she died, she was walking to the cafeteria for a meal. She just basically dropped dead while she was walking. As I recall she was 98 at the time.
Herk_Man
Contributor
LOL, certainly not advocating what we've proven to be, in most cases, unhealthy lifestyles. But I too used to joke with my grandmother who made it to 98 years that we would not have to embalm her when she went because she was already pickled (screwdriver and martini every day) and smoked.
Apparently I was right too because her son, my uncle, who writes books for each state on how to beat the undertaker, showed up at the cemetary with grandma in a pine casket he'd made himself, straight from the hospital morgue. The funeral director was not a happy man but my uncle knows the laws and there wasn't a thing they could do.
Ok, back to the topic... which was?
Apparently I was right too because her son, my uncle, who writes books for each state on how to beat the undertaker, showed up at the cemetary with grandma in a pine casket he'd made himself, straight from the hospital morgue. The funeral director was not a happy man but my uncle knows the laws and there wasn't a thing they could do.
Ok, back to the topic... which was?
OP
Mike Boswell
Contributor
WM - The DCS experiences that you and your friends have had seem (to me) to be more frequent than most other divers. Do you have any ideas about why that is?
Most scuba diving injuries can be cured: al la chamber ride!
Most sky diving injuries that I know of are usually fatal.
You weight the risk.
Most sky diving injuries that I know of are usually fatal.
You weight the risk.
lavachickie
Contributor
Is diving more dangerous than sitting at home in a plastic bubble? You betcha. That's one of the reasons it's more fun. 
Life is kinda like computer security. The most secure computer is one that is at the bottom of a closet, unplugged, and not in use. While it might be ultra safe, it sure isn't very useful, either.
To me the great thing about scuba (done well, anyway) is that with training, practice, good judgement, reliance upon yourself for ultimate responsibility for yourself AND your buddy... AND a buddy with the same mindset... you minimize all risks involved and enable yourself to do something totally amazing: exploring another world. Is all risk eliminated? No. But few things worth doing are completely free of the risk and/or the unexpected.
It's like riding a motorcycle. You must maintain a good balance between fear/respect of the power of what you're attempting to harness, and confidence in your own abilities. Get too cocky and you get sloppy, and that's when the ***** will hit the fan.
Life is kinda like computer security. The most secure computer is one that is at the bottom of a closet, unplugged, and not in use. While it might be ultra safe, it sure isn't very useful, either.
To me the great thing about scuba (done well, anyway) is that with training, practice, good judgement, reliance upon yourself for ultimate responsibility for yourself AND your buddy... AND a buddy with the same mindset... you minimize all risks involved and enable yourself to do something totally amazing: exploring another world. Is all risk eliminated? No. But few things worth doing are completely free of the risk and/or the unexpected.
It's like riding a motorcycle. You must maintain a good balance between fear/respect of the power of what you're attempting to harness, and confidence in your own abilities. Get too cocky and you get sloppy, and that's when the ***** will hit the fan.
The actuaries at the life insurance company had no rating change when I disclosed that I was doing no decompression dives with a PADI Open Water certification. Since they are paid to worry about risks, they must believe that the risk is like a lot of other life activities.
OP
Mike Boswell
Contributor
Maybe... or maybe, somewhere in the fine print, it says they don't have to pay anything if you have a dive accident.
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