Diver nearly drowns on dive boat

[D1v1n]

Here is a link to a blog that one of out club members has created. He had a very close call but was very fortunate to have skilled and knowledgeable people to help him.

Here is the link
Fit To Dive: Diver Nearly Drowns on Dive Boat Deck

 

[Scott L]

Not being a medical professional, what was the diagnosis and cause?

 

[Karibelle]

"Avoid over hydration prior to a dive" - just related to this condition? Or I wonder if this is general advice... Question for DAN perhaps.

 

[aaronjweese]

Interesting read, thanks for this!

 

[idocsteve]

Not being a medical professional, what was the diagnosis and cause?

The whole incident could have been avoided if he was in good physical shape and not overweight.

Every incident has a cause. The bottom line is that a gap in my fitness level, combined with unfortunate genetics, caused this one. Like many of us, I've picked up some pounds over the years and this has raised my blood pressure slightly. Not a big deal on land. But a huge deal underwater. I have to shed the weight and get my BP back to 120 / 70 or better or pick another hobby.

I have posted about this very same thing before and it always gets heated, with many responses from overweight divers who claim their experience and skill outweighs their morbid obesity.

 

[Charlie99]

I wonder if running a triathlon the previous day had anything to do with the incident?

"...... I had arrived late the previous evening after a late get away from Richmond due to my participation in an Xterra off road traithlon Sunday."

 

[TSandM]

Denisegg here on SB had a similar episode last year, and came very close to dying.

Immersion pulmonary edema is a poorly understood entity that can occur to swimmers as well as divers. High blood pressure seems to be correlated with it, but there are cases where no abnormalities are found at all. It seems to be more frequent in cold water, but occurs in warm as well. It is not possible at this point to predict who will get it, or even to say with any certainty what the recurrence risk is for someone who has had it.

The bottom line is that, if you begin to feel short of breath or start coughing during a dive, abort and get to the surface as quickly as is safe, and if symptoms persist, get on O2 and get to a medical facility. I know of at least one case here locally where the diver didn't seek medical attention right away, and luckily the case was mild . . . but you can't count on that.

 

[waterpirate]

Small world.
I just met Matt and Sharky on a boat in fla.and heard this whole tail first hand from them. Coincedentaly the capt. and dive master were newly transplanted from moorehead. A truly sobering acount that we all should pay heed to.
Eric

 

[denisegg]

There is a lot of good information in the article about ways to avoid a recurrence. After exhausting all the doctors who treated me during my hospitalization and those recommended by Dan, one cardiologist, 2 pulmonary doctors and an endocrinologist, the only thing they could find wrong after extensive testing was an elevated thyroid caused by a doctor treating me for a condition that did not exist. I am not overweight nor do I have any heart or lung conditions. Believe me, they tested me for everything. Under the instruction of the endocrinologist, I got off of Armor thyroid medicine and my levels returned to normal before I once again began to start diving.
I had a choice to make. Since the doctors could find no reason for the occurrence, they also could not give me any reason not to dive again.
I made the decision that I would step up my cardio and weight training, get regular checkups from my local doctor, and listen to my body and my mind before, during and after every dive. In other words, bring my "A game". I also carry an AL40 stage bottle now with 100% o2 with a portable cpap by Rescuean with me every time I dive. Unless I am using it for deco, it is equipped and ready to go on the surface.
Two weeks ago I descended to 94 ft deep approximately 500 ft back in a cave where my IPE occurred last July 4th. Believe me, I was listening. I had been working up to this for months. I started back diving after 3 months of doctor visits and tests and then one more round of tests from an Internal Medicine doctor two weeks before my first dive to tell me everything was normal. I started with beach dives, spring dives and then worked my way back to cavern dives. The dives I did the last two weeks would be considered intro cave dives. My two buddies are intro and I was following the rules that applied to their 1/6's. The first couple of dives we stopped there, in the place where I first started coughing and turned the dive. Then the next couple of dives we penetrated another 500 ft past this.
This was quite a confidence booster but I will never forget what happened or how it felt to swim that 300ft on the gold line plus another 200ft in the cavern to get back to the entrance so that I could ascend, coughing every breath and my lungs filling with fluid, from the inside.

 

[CaptJT]

Coincedentaly the capt. and dive master were newly transplanted from moorehead.

???? You got some explaining to do Lucky! (in the voice of Ricky)