A question for rescue divers

[BHB ScubaTroll]

My first and only "rescue" was actually a "recovery", but I was young and didn't realize it at the time...

I don't think I have ever mentioned it on this board, but this thread made me remember every detail as if it were yesterday. I don't like to talk about it because I some how still feel like I failed and I feel like someone's life was ended prematurely because I wasn't there when I was needed...

I was driving from Tampa to Clearwater across the Memorial Causeway... A woman was in the middle of the street waving frantically at traffic. I was on my way to work, but stopped and asked what the problem was...

This woman was frantic, she said her boys were walking in the water when her oldest just disappeared in the water. I had about 2000 psi in a tank still attached to my gear... I was diving a spring near Tampa with a girl from the midwest to show her some local springs and give her a checkout dive before she made a boat dive locally the next day... I was already dressed for work as a cook at Clearwater Hooters...

I quickly donned my gear while asking questions about were the boys were when the one went down... I remember asking for the specific area, and the woman telling me it was right near that float on the water (a crab trap buoy). the water in the area of Tampa Bay is not conducive to diving. It is down right 0 viz. I set my stake at the crab trap and began my search radius. It took about 10 minutes of searching via my diameter search, but I found the "body"...

I quickly got it to the surface and began rescue breathing... I continued this to the shore and began CPR... I do not know what was happening around me, my focus and adrenaline were zero'd in on attempting to revive this young man...

I remember Paramedics relieving me and telling me I had done all that I could.... I watched them take that boy away... and I thought "why aren't they continuing my CPR... They should be trying to get him going again...".... Then, I just sat there crying...

I don't know how long I sat there crying but I know an officer told me the boy was doa, and that I should be proud of my "rescue"... I didn't feel proud of anything... I simply felt shame...

It took some counseling for me to realize "It really wasn't my fault and I was out of the time frame that would have made a difference"

This is the realm of those who take on rescue and recovery! Any rescue/recovery can set off these emotions... No matter how prepared you might think you are, it can set off emotions you didn't know were there. Rational/Irrational, it doesn't matter... It is always rational to the one who is involved...

Would I attempt a rescue again? ... without a doubt! I consider it owes me one! Do I go looking for it... Not on your life!

BTW, I showed up for work at Hooters, wet and still shook up... To their credit, the sent me home (maybe because they saw me on the news, but I believe it is more because they saw I was really shook up about the incident)

 

[Gambitt]

Going back to the OP's question..

One, because you are at the same depth, unless you have the lungs of Hercules, (or are 5 times the size of the victim) an over inflation cannot occur. The compressed volume of air in your lungs will be at the same effective pressure in their lungs( water in the lungs will Not compress, so you'd be "pushing against a wall" ; and because they are not conscious, they cannot "hold their breath" as they ascend so the excess volume will naturally ventilate on the way to the surface, as long as you support the airway on the way up.

2 Unconscious, Not Breathing, and No circulation are not the same... and not mutually exclusive.

A person on a ventilator in a hospital, still has circulation even if they are unconscious and need the machine to breathe for them.

3, water in the lungs... If they are in a condition of drowning, any air that you can add to the lungs allows some passage of oxygen to the lung tissues. A lung that is at 50% of expansion, but full of water, is much less able to support life, than a lung fully expanded with 60% water and 40 % air.

I'm only an EFR Tech, so if a Dr. wants to tell me I'm wrong; then I'd be very happy to learn, but when brain death can occur in 4 minutes, I thing getting at least some usable oxygen to the brain is very important.