My bone head mistake.

[Kennedydive]

Hey everyone

Seldom do we ever make a serious mistake and get the chance to go back and learn from it. In the summer of 2006 I made a real bone head mistake and managed through my situation and came out unscathed. On this Diving Accidents and Incidents topic we hear of accidents where the outcome was death and it leaves the diving community with questions that the diver can not answer.
I've never hide from the local community my mistake and in fact it was the first thing I discussed upon surfacing on the boat with my fellow divers. I’m very open to discuss my mistake so hopefully someone learns from it.
My Story.
I was out with a group of divers, diving a wreck that we have dived many many times. When the boat arrived to the dive site the mooring line was gone. We did not have any shot line setup as we were expecting the line to be there. We geared up a shot line but had to use the boats replacement zinc anodes. The guy using the boat wanted them back after we tied into the wreck. No problem. My dive buddy and I were the first in. The plan was he'd cut the line to the weights and then tie it into the wreck. I was then to retie the weight line and place a lift bag on them and bring it to the tie in point where we would inflate it at the end of the dive. Everything went as planned. My buddy cut the weight line and swam off to tie the mooring line into the preferred location on the wreck. I tied the line and got my lift bag out and attached it. I then opened the bag and tried to direct my exhaust bubbles into the bag. This just was not working. I then proceeded to take the second stage out of my mouth and inflate the lift bag controlling how much air was going in. This is where the Bone Head move came in. I took a breath without the reg in my mouth. As soon as I started I realized what I had done but by that time it was too late. I slammed the reg back into my mouth as the lungful of seawater made me gag. Your body is an amazing thing. I tried to take a breath and my body said NOPE! You’re drowning stupid. I'm not allowing you to breath. I was not able to inhale an ounce of air. I gagged a bit more and tried again and got only a very small breath. Not enough. I tried repeatedly and the panic started to set in. I needed air and I wasn’t getting it from my reg. The surface was where I needed to go and in a hurray. I was at that time sitting in 200fsw. The thought to bolt to the surface was there but I knew that solution although appealing was the wrong one. I simply sat on the bottom with my eyes closed trying to calm down as I slowly with each breath got a bit more air. After a couple of minutes my breathing was back to normal and I was then able to realize what a stupid thing I did. I finished inflating the bag with my secondary in my mouth and completed my dive.
Jason

[alaity47]

Wow - sounds to me like you did great, actually. Everyone makes bonehead moves; it's recovering from them that's the trick.

Did you not have an octo you could use to inflate the lift bag? I've never needed to donate air outside of class, but those things do come in awfully handy for lifting things. :)

[dpbishop]

Well, that's one I haven't done!! One problem with doing a lot of dives over the years is that you get complacent, and go on automatic pilot for things that need attention. I can reel off a few bonehead mistakes I have made that could have had disastrous consequences if they had happened at 200 ft. The good thing about having a lot of dives under your belt is you have the knowledge and confidence in your abilities to handle these situations correctly, as you did.

The first mistake was in not being properly prepared for the dive. (no shot line set up) "Assumption is the mother of all *******ups". I assume you were diving some mixture, but 200 ft is definitely narco deep, and and you have to continually remind yourself to question your own judgment. Using and octopus or pony, if you had one, instead of your primary might have been smarter. Or just buying the the skipper a some replacement zink. or having your buddy help you inflate the bag. I guess we need to keep reminding ourselves " I'm 200 feet under water. I could die."

Glad you made it back.

[TSandM]

I haven't had this happen to me in 200 feet of water, thank goodness, but I have just barely stopped myself from inhaling without a regulator in my mouth at shallower depths. It's almost as though your brain gets so accustomed to breathing while surrounded with water that it's no longer worried about doing so, even when it should be!

Laryngospasm, which is what happened to you, is terribly dangerous, because it cannot be inhibited consciously, and the obstruction is worsened by attempting to inhale. (For the purposes of anybody who might be faced with a buddy losing consciousness because of this, though, you can almost always overcome laryngospasm obstruction with positive pressure ventilation, eg. mouth-to-mouth.) You were very lucky that it resolved before you passed out.

[NWGratefulDiver]

Thankfully the only time I've done that I was only about two or three feet beneath the surface ... haven't worn a snorkel since ... :11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Kennedydive]

Yes I was on a 18/35 mix and yes I had a secondary second stage around my neck that I should have stuck in my mouth as soon as the other came out. Looking back at the incident things look so simple. Should have done this, could have done that. It is amazing fow fast it can happen. The part that scared me the most (other than the idea of drowing) was that the thought to bolt to the surface came into my mind. A thought which in 200fsw is not an option and I knew this. But that is where I wanted to go.

[jeckyll]

Kennedy: Just curious: What mix were you on? Was this a problem with narcosis or simply one of those things where task loading caused bad decisions?

I know I've done some things when shooting a bag that I wouldn't make me look very smart... :)

Edit: Nevermind about the mix, we posted at the same time.

[Gombessa]

Scary moment, Jason! It also sounds like something that could happen to anybody.

My immediate thought was as to what your buddy was doing while this happened. Sounds like having him "swim off" to tie the line was a separate mistake of judgment that may have compounded the problem once it hit? Problems that occur after buddy separation always seem to be the worst.

[shotthebreeze]

Way to handle the situation, Kennedy. I think I probably would have s*** my wet suit. Quick question, though while were on the subject of lift bags. Aren't you supposed to inflate the lift bag with your octo?

[Kennedydive]

Yes my buddy was off just out of site. Viz was around 40 feet or so and he had gone up on the top deck to tie off so that the line would not tangle in the wreckage. I was in the sand at max depth. Me and my dive buddies always dive together but short periods of separation is not uncommon. After I got my self back together I started to head towards the tie point. My dive buddy was almost back to where he left me as I seemed to have been taking to long. Would it have been too late. Very possible and this was another eye opener.
JK

[nereas]

...Laryngospasm, which is what happened to you, is terribly dangerous, because it cannot be inhibited consciously, and the obstruction is worsened by attempting to inhale. (For the purposes of anybody who might be faced with a buddy losing consciousness because of this, though, you can almost always overcome laryngospasm obstruction with positive pressure ventilation, eg. mouth-to-mouth.) ...

Every day, if possible, I try to learn something new, and today, this was it. Thanks, TSM!

BTW, if a buddy went unconscious underwater, I would simply bring him/her back to the surface rather than try mouth-to-mouth underwater, or any other type of resuscitation. Then, at the surface, check for a pulse at the carotid (I always keep my right glove unincumbered and easily removable for this). If there is a heartbeat, then begin artificial respiration immediately at the surface, and continue it during the swim back. If no heartbeat, then simply swim back to shore (or to the boat) more quickly without doing the respiration until I reach shore, and then begin the CPR on shore.

[nereas]

Yes my buddy was off just out of site. Viz was around 40 feet or so and he had gone up on the top deck to tie off so that the line would not tangle in the wreckage. I was in the sand at max depth. Me and my dive buddies always dive together but short periods of separation is not uncommon. After I got my self back together I started to head towards the tie point. My dive buddy was almost back to where he left me as I seemed to have been taking to long. Would it have been too late. Very possible and this was another eye opener.
JK

It sounds like you resolved your own issue quite well by yourself! Having a buddy nearby might actually have made things worse.

As was mentioned, I would have used the reg from another bottle to fill the bag, such as my EAN 50 deco bottle. Or else, switched to my bungeed reg, and use the long hose reg to fill the bag. That way, you are using a different 1st and 2nd stage to fill the bag, and so you are less likely to freeflow it. I have seen Mares regs freeflow from too much use, although never any other reg do so. But I presume all regs have about the same risk of freeflow from overuse, especially when filling bags.

If I am holding my breath, on scuba (which Cousteau himself said never to do -- Rule #1), then my lungs would be full, not half full nor empty. That is because I am a freediver first, and a scuba diver second.

Interesting story, strange mistake, fascinating medical result. I did not know all this could happen. Thanks for the excellent post! Very informative.

[Teamcasa]

I am glad you were able to solve the issue by yourself. You can’t credit forcing panic back enough. Once you slip into panic, the responses tend to be limited and the results more traumatic. Good job.

[ShakaZulu]

I was expecting something worse..My octo got caught in the SMB and pulled me up with it, I was only at 20ft, but learned my lesson. If that had happened deeper, I may not have been here to share the story.

[aliecon]

Excellent recovery. I am not sure but would pressing the button on regulator to force air in to your mouth help? One time, I had seawater in my lungs (after a kick to my head). I started coughing and couldn't breath through my regulator. But when I hit the botton on regulator, the pressurized air helped a lot.

[TSandM]

The problem with trying to ventilate with a regulator is the low pressure required to open the exhaust valve. You can't generate much positive pressure at all, before the excess gas simply escapes.

[Hank49]

Thankfully the only time I've done that I was only about two or three feet beneath the surface ... haven't worn a snorkel since ... :11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I've come close also. Free diving (shallow) after scuba diving. It's not boneheaded...it's almost an unconscious move....until, "Whoaaaa..."!!!! that was close...

[dumpsterDiver]

I haven't had this happen to me in 200 feet of water, thank goodness, but I have just barely stopped myself from inhaling without a regulator in my mouth at shallower depths. It's almost as though your brain gets so accustomed to breathing while surrounded with water that it's no longer worried about doing so, even when it should be!

Laryngospasm, which is what happened to you, is terribly dangerous, because it cannot be inhibited consciously, and the obstruction is worsened by attempting to inhale. (For the purposes of anybody who might be faced with a buddy losing consciousness because of this, though, you can almost always overcome laryngospasm obstruction with positive pressure ventilation, eg. mouth-to-mouth.) You were very lucky that it resolved before you passed out.

That is what it sounded like to me. I thought that divers were taught how to deal with this? I was taught a long time ago, and I taught my 11 yr old scuba diving son the same thing.. The self-rescue remedy is to spit out as much water from your mouth and then swallow to release the spasm. Putting a tiny amount of seawater im your stomach should not be a problem. I view this as an important and basic diving skill????