Barracuda2
Contributor
Friends, I regret and am very disappointed to inform you that my 70th Birthday dive that was to take place on Sat. Feb. 9 at Gilboa has to be postponed. However, I am very elated to be alive to give this incident report. I'm not sure what exactly we all can learn from this other than things can happen quickly and beyond our control in our activity, and stay alert to that fact. On Sat. Jan. 26, on my 2nd dive, I experienced my first VERY close call in my 54 years of diving. If I had a "worst enemy", which I don't, I would NEVER wish such an experience on him.
My first dive went off without a hitch. I was diving 33% nitrox; po2 set at 1.5. Went to 103' max depth for a few minutes, then ascended to 85', then to 75'. Because of the 1.5 po2 setting, my computer made me do a 2 min. deco before shifting to 3 min. safety stop. I was aware that that was going to happen. Total dive time was 38 min. Saw Goliath groupers, gray and bull sharks. There was lots of action because we had a couple of spear divers and when they hit a sheep head or snapper, they drew a lot of attention, especially from the bulls. Great Dive.
After a 1 hr. SI, went in for the 2nd drift dive. Used 35% nitrox. Max depth was 85' but most of the dive was at 75-65'. Another great exciting dive. A spear diver shot another big sheep head. The bulls went crazy and literally had to be fended off. They were so close, they bumped into divers several times. Then, a at least 200 lb. Goliath came up off the bottom and grabbed the sheep head, bent the shaft in a U shape and ripped the fish from the shaft. I learned that sharks, even bulls, don't mess with Goliaths. We also saw several large turtles. After about 25 min. I started my ascent. Again, computer required a 2 min. deco and and then did a 3 min safety.
My close call started on the ascent. I felt a need to clear my throat, and did. Brought up a little phlegm but thought nothing about it. Then felt the need to clear more and more times and kept bringing up stuff. At this point I thought that was unusual. About the last minute of my safety stop, I noticed I was starting to labour in my breathing and thought that weird because I wasn't really doing anything but hanging with the drift. The clearing of my throat became more intense and more numerous.
When I broke surface, all hell broke loose. My breathing was very labored and I was becoming more and more uncomfortable because I couldn't get enough air. I could feel and hear my lungs gurgling with every breath. i even took out my reg and spit some of what was coming up to see if it was pink or red; I feared embolism. All I saw was a white frothy sputum. I started to really suffer because I was suffocating in my own lung fluid. Plus, I was drifting in about 4 to 5 ft. swells, some occasionally breaking on me. I was in trouble. The boat was about 80 yds. from me but I did get his attention and began waving in distress. He powered over, and I yelled, "get me out of here!" Not that easy; he had to maneuver the through the swells to get the stern to me and that took time. I was starting to get light headed and I thought I would pass out for sure. My body was totally oxygen starved. No matter how deep I tried to breath, I couldn't get enough air.
He got to me literally just in time. I saw an arm reach out to me and I grabbed on and was hauled to the ladder. They un-geared me and helped me up to the platform and onto the boat. I was semi-consciense at this time. As soon as I sat down on the bench, things started to clear up, but I was still having a hard time breathing: I could feel and hear every breath. I got a hit of I Immersion Pulmonary Edema and never saw it coming.
After about 20 min. I began to feel better, but the captain said I needed to have a doc look at me. On the way back to Ft. Myers from Jupiter (about 3 hr. drive) I called DAN and talked to them for about 25 min. The convinced me to go to a hospital ER as soon as possible. I did.
In spite of a very crowded ER, they admitted me immediately. I did have pulmonary edema, but blood test showed an elevated heart enzyme that could indicate a heart attack.
Three days later after several EKG's, echocardiogram, and heart cath, I walked out a happy man; lungs all cleared up, no heart attack, just a stress attack because of lack of oxygen to the heart, and I was alive. If that boat was another 100 yds. away, report wouldn't be here.
My first dive went off without a hitch. I was diving 33% nitrox; po2 set at 1.5. Went to 103' max depth for a few minutes, then ascended to 85', then to 75'. Because of the 1.5 po2 setting, my computer made me do a 2 min. deco before shifting to 3 min. safety stop. I was aware that that was going to happen. Total dive time was 38 min. Saw Goliath groupers, gray and bull sharks. There was lots of action because we had a couple of spear divers and when they hit a sheep head or snapper, they drew a lot of attention, especially from the bulls. Great Dive.
After a 1 hr. SI, went in for the 2nd drift dive. Used 35% nitrox. Max depth was 85' but most of the dive was at 75-65'. Another great exciting dive. A spear diver shot another big sheep head. The bulls went crazy and literally had to be fended off. They were so close, they bumped into divers several times. Then, a at least 200 lb. Goliath came up off the bottom and grabbed the sheep head, bent the shaft in a U shape and ripped the fish from the shaft. I learned that sharks, even bulls, don't mess with Goliaths. We also saw several large turtles. After about 25 min. I started my ascent. Again, computer required a 2 min. deco and and then did a 3 min safety.
My close call started on the ascent. I felt a need to clear my throat, and did. Brought up a little phlegm but thought nothing about it. Then felt the need to clear more and more times and kept bringing up stuff. At this point I thought that was unusual. About the last minute of my safety stop, I noticed I was starting to labour in my breathing and thought that weird because I wasn't really doing anything but hanging with the drift. The clearing of my throat became more intense and more numerous.
When I broke surface, all hell broke loose. My breathing was very labored and I was becoming more and more uncomfortable because I couldn't get enough air. I could feel and hear my lungs gurgling with every breath. i even took out my reg and spit some of what was coming up to see if it was pink or red; I feared embolism. All I saw was a white frothy sputum. I started to really suffer because I was suffocating in my own lung fluid. Plus, I was drifting in about 4 to 5 ft. swells, some occasionally breaking on me. I was in trouble. The boat was about 80 yds. from me but I did get his attention and began waving in distress. He powered over, and I yelled, "get me out of here!" Not that easy; he had to maneuver the through the swells to get the stern to me and that took time. I was starting to get light headed and I thought I would pass out for sure. My body was totally oxygen starved. No matter how deep I tried to breath, I couldn't get enough air.
He got to me literally just in time. I saw an arm reach out to me and I grabbed on and was hauled to the ladder. They un-geared me and helped me up to the platform and onto the boat. I was semi-consciense at this time. As soon as I sat down on the bench, things started to clear up, but I was still having a hard time breathing: I could feel and hear every breath. I got a hit of I Immersion Pulmonary Edema and never saw it coming.
After about 20 min. I began to feel better, but the captain said I needed to have a doc look at me. On the way back to Ft. Myers from Jupiter (about 3 hr. drive) I called DAN and talked to them for about 25 min. The convinced me to go to a hospital ER as soon as possible. I did.
In spite of a very crowded ER, they admitted me immediately. I did have pulmonary edema, but blood test showed an elevated heart enzyme that could indicate a heart attack.
Three days later after several EKG's, echocardiogram, and heart cath, I walked out a happy man; lungs all cleared up, no heart attack, just a stress attack because of lack of oxygen to the heart, and I was alive. If that boat was another 100 yds. away, report wouldn't be here.
I don't know what we can all learn from this because I followed all the rules. Docs or DAN can't pin-point what triggered this. Lots of theories but nothing specific; that scares me because I don't know what to do to prevent another episode. This was very traumatic to me mentally, and I may have a difficult time doing challenging dives like Great Lakes or ocean drift dives even thought I've done them many times. I guess we all must be aware that things can go wrong quickly and unforgiving in the activity we pursue. No matter who we are, how good we are, how many cert cards we have, or how perfectly we follow all the rules, stuff can happen quickly and it can be deadly. I feel blessed; maybe we can celebrate my 70th B-day dive at Spring Meet & Greet.
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