Boat's Emergency O2 Kit is "Out of Air"

[El Jefe]

I was on a dive trip in Mexico at the beginning of September (2008). It was our third dive of the day, a wreck at about 60ft. One of the girls on our dive began to experience lightheadedness and disorientation after she reached the bottom of the decent line. She was a newer diver and aborted the dive making an emergency assent to surface (not too fast as her boyfriend/buddy who is an experienced diver controlled her assent). She did blow her safety stop. My buddy and I, as well as the two divemasters on the dive with us had no idea they had returned to surface (visibility was 15ft). My buddy and I returned to the boat before the two divemasters as I was nearing my ND limit. Once aboard I asked the girl what happened. She explained that she was feeling dizzy, faint and disoriented with tingling in her extremities. The only other people on the boat were the Captain and Deckhand. The two divemasters surfaced a few minutes later and I explained to them what was going on and recommended that we administer O2 to the sick diver. They agreed (reluctantly for some reason). The boat was new with a DAN 2 bottle Emergency 02 kit on board. Turns out that the O2 kit was ordered new for the boat and no one bothered to have it filled (all O2 bottles are shipped empty). We immediately headed back to shore (45 minutes) where they had radioed to the dive shop and they brought emergency oxygen and had called paramedics to meet us. O2 was administered at the dock and the sick diver was taken to a little hospital (if you can call it that - it was disgusting - flies everywhere). She was released in a short amount of time after receiving about an hour of 02. After getting back to the States, she was still experiencing some discomfort, which grew worse. They called DAN for thoughts and she ended up going to the emergency room as recommended by the on call DAN doctor. After a variety of tests it turned out she just had a severe sinus infection that was aggravated by the dive.

I've left out a few details that probably aren't very important so the story didn't go on forever. However, I bring this up as a reminder to ask your boat operators if they have emergency O2 on the boat and if they are positive it is full. You may even want to insist on seeing the bottles and gauges. Any reputable dive operator should respect this request. My girlfriend and I went on a dive the next day after this incident (with a different operator) and I asked these questions, which they happily answered. Dive operators, REMEMBER -- DAN SHIPS OXYGEN BOTTLES EMPTY!

Does anyone see anything else that can be learned from this incident? I'm happy to provide more details as necessary. I will not provide the exact location, the dive operator in question or any names -- I'm not trying to point blame here.

PS: This was my first experience working with DAN. We called them on the way to the hospital to advise of the situation (all divers in our group are DAN members). They were terrific in assisting us and made several follow up calls to check on our status. If you're not a member, I strongly recommend joining and supporting them.

 

[stefo2]

Besides the obvious fact that O2 kits must be in full working order (including O2 fills!) and the captain on board or someone else should know what to do with it, there is one other thing that seems wrong: Where was her boyfriend, the "experienced diver???" Didn't he surface with her?

 

[Geoff_H]

Where was her boyfriend, the "experienced diver???" Didn't he surface with her?

Not sure why that is relevant to the point El Jefe is making, but he did mention the boyfriend helped control her ascent so he must have surfaced with her.

Or are you trying to say the boyfriend should have tried to put her on O2 before El Jefe surfaced? If so, not all experienced divers have good knowledge of how to spot DCS/DCI, especially mild cases.

Either way, don't think it is relevant to the point El Jefe is making...

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Sounds like her buddy did a good job. Remember not everyone is trained on how to administer oxygen. I train people to administer oxygen but it is amazing how many people don't even think of it. Unless they use it regularly people tend to forget about it when they are stressed. I even see them forget it in their exam scenarios! I keep telling students when you think you have finished ask yourself "What else can I do and then review the steps in your protocol, check your work"

I question the boat crew's training and review of emergency procedures. They are often the first people who should be in a position to help when a diver surfaces and they should be trained to think of oxygen and use it!

I must confess I haven't asked to see the oxygen that isn't a bad idea! Most of our dives are shore dives and I have my oxygen system in our car. I have trained my dive group how to use it and the defib. I honestly think more divers should be trained and consider having their own systems. If you dive in a regular group sharing the cost it isn't too pricey really. You can't fly with the system which is a shame.

 

[stefo2]

Well, OP asked if we had any additional questions, and I asked one, so what's the problem? It's true, El Jefe wrote that the buddy assisted her in her ascent, but he also wrote that when he himself came up after dive, only the Captain and the deckhand were on board, so I think it's legitimate to wonder where that buddy was if he surfaced with her. I didn't suggest that he should have administered oxygen, it just seemed odd to me that the OP, who must have come up quite some time after the girl and her buddy who aborted the dive immediately after descend, should have been the first one to even ask the girl what was wrong.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Hmm I missed that he only mentioned the boat crew. Good point to clear that up. Sorry I didn't mean to come across as critical of your question by the way just giving a possible explanation as to why the buddy might not have used oxygen. I must admit I assumed he was there but as you picked up... perhaps not...

 

[El Jefe]

Sorry, I didn't mean to cause confusion there. Her boyfriend did surface with her and I guess I should have said that when they reached the boat, the only other people there were the captain and deckhand. Geoff and Petunia are correct in that while he was experienced, he is by no means an expert. He is an OW diver with many dives under his belt, but not a rescue or even AOW diver and had no 02 training. The boat crew most definitely missed the mark by not doing more questioning when they surfaced. There was a clear language barrier with the Captain as he spoke little to know english, but the deckhand was fairly fluent and was a diver himself. If he was not trained in 02 administration, he should have been. IMO at the first sign of a diving related injury, the O2 should be out of the case. There's really nothing that can go wrong by administering it and a lot to possibly gain.

There should always be someone on board that can deal with an emergency in case of an emergency assent. Like happened with us, if you're the DM on the dive you won't always know if some diver decides to rocket to the surface.

 

[ianr33]

Where did this happen? (Mexico is not a small country ! )

 

[Sideband]

I get the point about checking the boats O2. What I don't get is the dire need to use it in this case. From what was said in the op, DCS was not a concern.

 

[dlent]

Who was the boat operation? If we know, we can avoid them.