Age, Illness, Bob Marley, and Scuba Accidents

[northernone]

I passed the contents of this thread to an older family member who is diving despite severe medical conditions.

Response:
Their death will be inconvenient to those left behind regardless, and dying while diving is one of the better ways to go when their body finally fails them (death while diving not a diving death). Doing what they love right to the end. As long as they can get into the water they will continue to dive.

While I hope I'm a little way from needing to make this decision as well, it's important to consider. Thank you for the thread topic.


Sobering thread,
Cameron

 

[Wookie]

It's ok to burn out or rust out, but not to fade away.

 

[boulderjohn]

It's ok to burn out or rust out, but not to fade away.

Channeling Neil Young?

 

[Saniflush]

Channeling Neil Young?

Or the Kurgan

 

[DanBMW]

It's ok to burn out or rust out, but not to fade away.

In my opinion, rusting is the same as fading away !

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I passed the contents of this thread to an older family member who is diving despite severe medical conditions.

Response:
Their death will be inconvenient to those left behind regardless, and dying while diving is one of the better ways to go when their body finally fails them (death while diving not a diving death). Doing what they love right to the end. As long as they can get into the water they will continue to dive.

While I hope I'm a little way from needing to make this decision as well, it's important to consider. Thank you for the thread topic.


Sobering thread,
Cameron

Please also tell the family member that their dive buddies have a right to make their choices as well. It isn't just the relatives that are "inconvenienced". If someone told me.. "I have this issue but living life to the fullest and diving are so important I want to dive knowing the risks." We could talk about what if anything they would expect of me,our buddies and their family's understanding of the situation". There is a good chance I would agree to the dive.. but at least I would have known the potential.

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was go to meet with the family of our dead dive buddy. We had no idea if we were going to be accused, sued or understood. Waiting to find out if the Coroner would find us culpable for a death we had no fault in meant months of horrific unrelenting stress. Nobody should put another through that without giving them a choice.

 

[Neilwood]

Please also tell the family member that their dive buddies have a right to make their choices as well. It isn't just the relatives that are "inconvenienced". If someone told me.. "I have this issue but living life to the fullest and diving are so important I want to dive knowing the risks." We could talk about what if anything they would expect of me,our buddies and their family's understanding of the situation". There is a good chance I would agree to the dive.. but at least I would have known the potential.

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was go to meet with the family of our dead dive buddy. We had no idea if we were going to be accused, sued or understood. Waiting to find out if the Coroner would find us culpable for a death we had no fault in meant months of horrific unrelenting stress. Nobody should put another through that without giving them a choice.

There is also the almost inescapable fact that people will be sent to try to recover the diver so you are putting people in to harms way to some extent.

A full and frank discussion between all concerned should be the best option so that the diver with the issue can make their feelings known, the buddy can get some input as to how this could affect them and the family get to understand the feelings involved and hopefully bear those in mind should the worst happen.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

There is also the almost inescapable fact that people will be sent to try to recover the diver so you are putting people in to harms way to some extent.

A full and frank discussion between all concerned should be the best option so that the diver with the issue can make their feelings known, the buddy can get some input as to how this could affect them and the family get to understand the feelings involved and hopefully bear those in mind should the worst happen.

Exactly thanks.Just liking this post wasn't enough :

 

[Sam Miller III]

Interesting thread...Thanks John

* I first heard Marley in the early 1970s-- a dive buddy came by the house after a dive trip to the Caribbean and brought along Bob Marley's first record . We played it several times....later he came to US and produced "Babylon by bus" which I still have packed away ---Memories !

* I began "diving" as a "goggler" - only goggles --long before Cousteau and his bubble machine. During the passage of those many years I have lost many friends and diving companions to the sport .
Some to diver error, some to just plain stupidity and for all you shark lovers 3 to GWS bites

The worst case occurred June 4, 1960. We were at Catalina Island to jerk a 7000 pound yachtsman's kedge (aka Popeye anchor ) up from 120 feet Most of us were working at 120, my roommate Joe was at 160 with a companion tying off marker floats. We all surfaced except Joe. We were all saturated so Norm Hansen, the famed Catalina commercial diver, was called and discovered Joe at 210 feet - deceased from CO in his tank.

It was my responsibility to notify his family and girl friend -- their reaction still rings in my ears. a sound I will never forget

A post scrip..
Dives were made with out SPGs, effective depth gauges, flotation devices, computers and all the rest of the modern divers equipment
The anchor was sold for $500.00 dollars- now sets in front of the San Pedro Maritime museum
Three weeks later Joe's girl friend and truly a soulmate took her life- She was discovered by her friend, who later married Bev Morgan - of Kirby Morgan (small diving world in 1950s-1960s)
A week later Joe's young brother died of an undiagnosed heart failure.
And that is the way it was in the genesis of diving

* I have been involved in diving all my life. I have often questioned Why? And still at this juncture of my life have not discovered the answer.
Perhaps it was my quest for adventure into the then unknown

Perhaps it was the ability to contribute..
> In 1962 was the first expert witness at the trial of a diver fling the new divers flag who was struck and seriously injured by a boat - It established the rights and privileges of a diver in a court of law
Also 20 years later defend the flag from a eastern joker who thought he owned the rights to the divers flag
> I established the divers classification system - rejected by LA Co and NAUI but embraced by John Cronin and PADI
Now we have all sorts of diver and supper duper instructor titles .
And too many other items
> Or maybe it was all the diving honors I received .who knows (? Quin Sabe?)

Shortly I leave for CalPoly University to lecture on the history and rights of a diver fling the divers flag.
Soon Sam IV who is a local director of the ER/Hyperbaric department, will follow on dive medicine

Now the California sun is shinning bright and my dog Lucky wants to go for a walk
SDM









.

 

[billt4sf]

I wish there were an accurate way to determine your heart health. I don't dive unless I can do aerobic conditioning (just getting back into it after a year's hiatus due to non-heart health issues). At age 66, I have all kinds of other relatively minor health issues, but heart attacks seems to be the single biggest risk for most people.

- Bill