The unresponsive diver was me. The dive was my first deep dive, my first nitrox dive (30%), my 8th dive of the trip, and my 17th dive ever. I, along with five others, were led by an instructor to the Spiegel and given a head's up about the surface current. We reached a depth of 93 feet by my computer, and did one swim through of the ship near the top. After about 20 minutes, including the descent, we returned to the drop rope, and following the instructor's lead (as well as using my computer and bubbles as a guide), worked our way up the rope. At 15 feet, we stopped for our three minute safety stop, confirmed by my computer. Shortly into the three minutes, I found I could not lift my left arm to look at my computer, and the current was swift enough, I did not want to let go of the rope.
Once the wife got the okay from the instructor, I went up ahead of her, and pulled myself with my right arm as close to the boat as I could, ending up near the corner, rather than the ladder. The captain asked me if I was okay, at which point I spit out my regulator, said yes, and passed out, keeping conscious long enough to pull my face out of the water when it hit. He, with the help of others, was able to get me onboard and administer oxygen as they rushed to port. I remember little bits here and there, seeing a woman wanting to give mouth to mouth, though I took in no water, my shoulders in agony as I was yanked on board, and the muscles in my hands and feet constricting tightly against my will.
By the time I got to shore, I was awake and aware of what was going on. EMS wanted to carry me to the ambulance, but I was able to walk, stopping to take off my boots (standing on one foot each time) and talking to the wife to make sure she knew where everything was. My left hand tingled, but I felt otherwise fine.
I was taken to Mariner's Hospital, no lights or sirens needed, and after a short time in triage, was put in the chamber for five hours. After the time was up, I was released and went back to the condo with the family. About two hours after release, my wife, mother, 9-year old son, and a close friend joined me for dinner at the Pilot House, not far from where we launched that morning. They were incredibly busy and service was slow, but I drank water and we shared an order of nachos. Shortly after the appetizer, I fixated on the ceiling, pointed to it, and went into a seizure.
I was laid on the floor, my mouth cleared, and EMS came again (same guys). I remember none of it after the start of it until we were close to the hospital and I was pushing the oxygen away from me as it was very hot and stifling. I was checked into ICU, spent the night under regular observation, and the next morning given an EKG, ECG, an ultrasound on the heart, an MRI, blood samples taken, and a few other tests. I then spent two more hours in the chamber, met with a neurologist who seemed to think everything looked fine and that I suffered an arterial gas embolism (AGE). Despite that, I was given a prescription of anti-seizure medication, orders to not fly home for 72 hours, and to follow up with a neurologist when I got home.
I got home yesterday evening, met with my gp today who repeated the neurologist's orders in Key Largo about not driving, no running, no alcohol, no caffeine, and has me set to meet with a local neurologist by week's end. I think I otherwise feel fine, but am anxious to get off the medication if it is safe to do so, although I do not want to put my family through the horror that I did at the restaurant.
Lessons learned:
- I did not want to dive deep so soon, but my wife was anxious to get her advanced open water. I know I should have nipped it in the bud, but felt like I was prepared for a basic dive. I do not blame her as it was my duty to say no.
- Combining a first of nitrox with a first of a deep dive was a bad idea since it makes it harder to pin down what exactly caused it.
- Speaking of causes, I am stumped. I thought I was hydrated enough, I did not overexert the night before, no alcohol the night before (only one beer over the course of the week), and my computer stands by my slow ascent, as do the people I went with.
- I think, and I could be wrong, that had I let go of the rope when I started losing feeling in my arm and rushed to the surface, I would have died; either through additional bends from skipping the safety stop, or floating away from the boat where the captain might not have seen me in time to get me out. This did not sink in until a couple of days ago and scares the hell out of me.
- Were I in a better mind, I would have kept the regulator in my mouth when the captain spoke to me. I don't know if he would then have known it was an emergency though. Likewise, since I did not dare let go of the rope, I could not inflate my bcd, nor did I think of dumping my weights. Fortunately I did not sink, and somehow in light of it all, the only gear I lost was my knife, although that is the last thing I was worried about.
- Assuming I am ever allowed to, I look forward to diving again, although it will be a very long time before I consider deep. I fell in love with the sea life and scenery of Key Largo reefs, I do not need to rush back to the wrecks anytime soon.
Sorry for being so verbose, in light of so many tragedies in this forum, I wanted to share in detail what exactly happened. A HUGE thanks to Rainbow Reef as they were able to get over to our boat quickly to help out, particularly Casey, and for the others there that I did not catch, I apologize. Thanks too to John for being of sound mind as captain of the Scuba Shack ship. He is young, but handled it maturely in getting me onboard and not letting me drop. Thanks as well to EMS for coming to my rescue TWICE, same three guys both times, and of course a big thanks to Mariner's Hospital for helping me get into what will hopefully be a recovered condition.
If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
