Former FLL Now MSP Diver
Contributor
I first heard of the accident on the evening news yesterday, here's what's appeared in print this morning.
Marc
Two divers wracked by 'bends' after 200-foot descent off Pompano
By Paula McMahon
Staff Writer
Sun Sentinel
Posted March 17 2003
Two divers who got into difficulties as they surfaced from a 200-foot dive off Pompano Beach on Sunday had to be rushed to Mercy Hospital in Miami for treatment, county and city fire officials said.
When the divers emerged from the ocean, they were suffering from severe decompression sickness, commonly known as the bends. The condition can be fatal and is caused by a buildup of nitrogen in the body while under water. The identities of the divers were not released Sunday but they were reported to be an engaged couple.
The woman was listed in very critical condition and the man was in serious condition, fire officials said.
As the divers were coming up, the woman, 32, ripped her breathing device out of her mouth and began darting for the surface, said Sandra King, a spokeswoman for Pompano Beach Fire-Rescue.
On the way up, the woman apparently lost consciousness and her fiance helped her, said Todd Le Duc of Broward County Fire-Rescue.
"He grabbed her buoyancy vest and pulled her up with him," Le Duc said. "His actions at least contributed to her having a chance of survival. It's good that he was astute and capable enough to
recognize her symptoms and help her."
The two were diving with a group from the Miss Conduct charter diving boat off Pompano Beach early Sunday. They were doing a technical dive, which means they were at a greater depth than most divers go.
People on the boat contacted the Coast Guard, and paramedics from Pompano Beach Fire-Rescue met the boat at Hillsboro Inlet, King said.
The two were taken to Broward General Medical Center in Fort
Lauderdale, where they were stabilized. Doctors decided it was best to airlift the woman to Mercy Hospital with two paramedics on hand to treat her. The man, who was in a less serious condition, was taken there by ambulance.
Mercy Hospital has a decompression tank where divers can be treated and recover.
Hospital officials would not comment on the two divers' conditions
late Sunday.
==========================================
Scuba diver critical after case of bends off Hillsboro Inlet
By NATALIE P. McNEAL
Miami Herald
nmcneal@h...
A scuba diver got a severe case of the bends Sunday on an excursion off Hillsboro Inlet.
The woman, whose name wasn't released, rose too quickly from about 200 feet down, said Sandra King, Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman. She took the regulator out of her mouth.
''She swallowed water,'' King said.
The diver was in critical condition late Sunday at Mercy Hospital in
Miami-Dade County, where she was put in a decompression chamber.
She and a man had been diving off the Miss Conduct charter boat about 10:21 a.m. when paramedics were called.
Rescue workers first rushed her to North Broward Medical Center, but her condition was so severe she was taken to Mercy.
The bends happens when a diver stays under water and nitrogen
dissolves in the water in the body.
When the diver swims quickly to the surface, it is just like uncorking a bottle of soda -- the gas is released. It can be fatal.
To avoid it, divers must rise slowly or make ''decompression stops'' on the way up so that the gas can release slowly. If the diver rises too fast, the only cure is to enter a pressurized chamber in which the air pressure matches the pressure at depth.
Miss Conduct is a 30-foot custom dive vessel departing that operates out of Pompano Beach. No one from the company was available for comment Sunday.
The charter takes two to six scuba divers to popular wrecks and reefs from Boca Raton to Fort Lauderdale.
=============================================
Deep Divers Hit By The Bends
Posted: 7:11 a.m. EST March 17, 2003
Updated: 8:39 a.m. EST March 17, 2003
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- A scuba diver is still in critical condition
this morning, suffering from the bends. The victim and another diver were 200 feet underwater off Pompano Beach Sunday.
When they surfaced they had symptoms of the bends, which is a
decompression sickness caused by a build up of nitrogen in the blood.
Both divers were taken to a decompression chamber at Mercy Hospital. A man, whose name has not been released, was allowed to leave, while a woman, whose name has also not been released, is still in critical condition.
Marc
Two divers wracked by 'bends' after 200-foot descent off Pompano
By Paula McMahon
Staff Writer
Sun Sentinel
Posted March 17 2003
Two divers who got into difficulties as they surfaced from a 200-foot dive off Pompano Beach on Sunday had to be rushed to Mercy Hospital in Miami for treatment, county and city fire officials said.
When the divers emerged from the ocean, they were suffering from severe decompression sickness, commonly known as the bends. The condition can be fatal and is caused by a buildup of nitrogen in the body while under water. The identities of the divers were not released Sunday but they were reported to be an engaged couple.
The woman was listed in very critical condition and the man was in serious condition, fire officials said.
As the divers were coming up, the woman, 32, ripped her breathing device out of her mouth and began darting for the surface, said Sandra King, a spokeswoman for Pompano Beach Fire-Rescue.
On the way up, the woman apparently lost consciousness and her fiance helped her, said Todd Le Duc of Broward County Fire-Rescue.
"He grabbed her buoyancy vest and pulled her up with him," Le Duc said. "His actions at least contributed to her having a chance of survival. It's good that he was astute and capable enough to
recognize her symptoms and help her."
The two were diving with a group from the Miss Conduct charter diving boat off Pompano Beach early Sunday. They were doing a technical dive, which means they were at a greater depth than most divers go.
People on the boat contacted the Coast Guard, and paramedics from Pompano Beach Fire-Rescue met the boat at Hillsboro Inlet, King said.
The two were taken to Broward General Medical Center in Fort
Lauderdale, where they were stabilized. Doctors decided it was best to airlift the woman to Mercy Hospital with two paramedics on hand to treat her. The man, who was in a less serious condition, was taken there by ambulance.
Mercy Hospital has a decompression tank where divers can be treated and recover.
Hospital officials would not comment on the two divers' conditions
late Sunday.
==========================================
Scuba diver critical after case of bends off Hillsboro Inlet
By NATALIE P. McNEAL
Miami Herald
nmcneal@h...
A scuba diver got a severe case of the bends Sunday on an excursion off Hillsboro Inlet.
The woman, whose name wasn't released, rose too quickly from about 200 feet down, said Sandra King, Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman. She took the regulator out of her mouth.
''She swallowed water,'' King said.
The diver was in critical condition late Sunday at Mercy Hospital in
Miami-Dade County, where she was put in a decompression chamber.
She and a man had been diving off the Miss Conduct charter boat about 10:21 a.m. when paramedics were called.
Rescue workers first rushed her to North Broward Medical Center, but her condition was so severe she was taken to Mercy.
The bends happens when a diver stays under water and nitrogen
dissolves in the water in the body.
When the diver swims quickly to the surface, it is just like uncorking a bottle of soda -- the gas is released. It can be fatal.
To avoid it, divers must rise slowly or make ''decompression stops'' on the way up so that the gas can release slowly. If the diver rises too fast, the only cure is to enter a pressurized chamber in which the air pressure matches the pressure at depth.
Miss Conduct is a 30-foot custom dive vessel departing that operates out of Pompano Beach. No one from the company was available for comment Sunday.
The charter takes two to six scuba divers to popular wrecks and reefs from Boca Raton to Fort Lauderdale.
=============================================
Deep Divers Hit By The Bends
Posted: 7:11 a.m. EST March 17, 2003
Updated: 8:39 a.m. EST March 17, 2003
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- A scuba diver is still in critical condition
this morning, suffering from the bends. The victim and another diver were 200 feet underwater off Pompano Beach Sunday.
When they surfaced they had symptoms of the bends, which is a
decompression sickness caused by a build up of nitrogen in the blood.
Both divers were taken to a decompression chamber at Mercy Hospital. A man, whose name has not been released, was allowed to leave, while a woman, whose name has also not been released, is still in critical condition.
