OP
driftin' by
Contributor
First off, thanks so much for well wishes. I'm humbled by all the support.
Sorry I didn't respond earlier.... I have a strict policy of not touching a computer while on vacation since I use one daily to earn a living. Given my predicimate, my options were limited.
So about the injury which might be helpful information to others.... I never felt any pain whatsoever and it happened immediately upon decent at about 5 fsw. I got dizzy and nauseated but continued the dive since I didn't feel any pain. I felt as if I were able to equalize to depth but the nausea worsened and at about 50 fsw I started noticing the bubbles. I then got my wife's attention to let her know things were not cool and to show her the bubbles coming out of my ear. I was able to "suck it up", gather my senses but honestly never, ever relaxed and enjoyed the dive. It's surreal as I can only vaguely remember any of the dive but what I do, was that it was the most pristine site I've ever dived in Coz with tons of life and sea fans abound that seemingly escaped the wrath to Wilma. That is not to say the other sites pale in comparison, this one was just that much more spectacular. So I was able to mitigate the physical effects but the thoughts running through my mind was something else. "Is this my last dive?" "What damage have I done?" "Am I gonna make it to see my daughter again?" It was pretty rough but making matters worse, I started the day with a heavy heart in reflection of my best friend who took his life on the very same just one year ago. I was hoping that occupying myself with a beautiful dive would keep my mind off of it however, not knowing exactly what was wrong, my mind of course wondered thinking the worse for myself. Anyway, after 42 minutes we ascended where the nausea and vertigo really set in and I preceded to vomit on the surface. I knew I was done diving. Next step was to figure out what the heck went wrong.
So I was thinking on the boat during the SI and the other's second dive that a simple call to DAN would be the best plan. DAN would probably receive calls like this daily? They'd know exactly what the problem was based on my symptoms and would be able to prescribe a treatment until I returned home. So we called the non emergency number racking up a $16 charge without ever getting someone to talk to. Then we called the emergency number where our collect charges were declined and still not able to speak to anyone. We then proceeded to call Jeanie at Blue Angel who coincidentally already called our room leaving us a message based on info our DM, Tony had reported back about my injury. She recommended we stop at the SSS Hyperbaric Medical Center on Calle 5 Sur. I eventually saw Dr. Victor Morales Ceballos who diagnosed I had a puncture consisting of 2% of the membrane in my left ear and some trauma in my right ear. The rest was lost in translation but it was all I needed to know. He prescribed Varidasa tablets to be taken 3 times a day for 6 days and to keep the ear dry. No need for antibiotics as I just finished taking Zithromax before the trip to get over an infection I was fighting.
For the first 48 hours, I experienced an wired sensation of water in my ear that was more irritating than painful. After that, no pain or discomfort to speak of, just some loss of hearing. And the flight home was without incident. Dr. Ceballos said there would be no cause for concern as air would freely move in and out of the inner ear with pressure changes.
I do intend to call DAN and see what the policy is for obtaining information about that sort of injury I had and voice my concerns about not being able to speak with someone. However, I'm fully aware that my injury was minor and that I'm sure someplace, somewhere something worse was going on. In any event, I called both numbers to no avail. Luckily it was minor in my case. I'm probably also going to submit a claim mainly because the visit to the clinic along with the medicine was together, somewhat expensive. Not that I'm not willing to take responsibility for myself but it was a diving injury and that's why I have diving insurance.
I should add that I also ruptured both ear drums as a kid. Dr. Ceballos said that once you have a rupture your more susceptible to future injuries as only 2 of the 3 layers that make up the membrane will heal. So I may be in the same boat again in the future.
Lesson learned: Don't push it next time with congestion even though you can equalize. I truly think that for 8 or so days prior to the injury that I blew my nose consistently in an attempt to drain all the snot from my head to clear things up. Next time, I just cancel the trip.... that's why I have trip insurance.
In the end, the trip wasn't a total bust. I didn't get to fully enjoy using my new camera setup (Canon G9 in an Ike housing) but I did make the best of it and enjoyed the pools at FA and even went snorkeling, with an ear plug of course, on Sunday. I think I saw more snorkeling than I did in the 6 previous dives! I just wasn't able to get as close as I'm used to. We also met some fantastic people at FA including fellow SB'er Okiejeff and his wife. The real damper was the weather the went foul starting on the day of my injury.
It's too bad because I was just getting the hang of that G9....
Ugh, I guess it's back to the old daily grind.
Sorry I didn't respond earlier.... I have a strict policy of not touching a computer while on vacation since I use one daily to earn a living. Given my predicimate, my options were limited.
So about the injury which might be helpful information to others.... I never felt any pain whatsoever and it happened immediately upon decent at about 5 fsw. I got dizzy and nauseated but continued the dive since I didn't feel any pain. I felt as if I were able to equalize to depth but the nausea worsened and at about 50 fsw I started noticing the bubbles. I then got my wife's attention to let her know things were not cool and to show her the bubbles coming out of my ear. I was able to "suck it up", gather my senses but honestly never, ever relaxed and enjoyed the dive. It's surreal as I can only vaguely remember any of the dive but what I do, was that it was the most pristine site I've ever dived in Coz with tons of life and sea fans abound that seemingly escaped the wrath to Wilma. That is not to say the other sites pale in comparison, this one was just that much more spectacular. So I was able to mitigate the physical effects but the thoughts running through my mind was something else. "Is this my last dive?" "What damage have I done?" "Am I gonna make it to see my daughter again?" It was pretty rough but making matters worse, I started the day with a heavy heart in reflection of my best friend who took his life on the very same just one year ago. I was hoping that occupying myself with a beautiful dive would keep my mind off of it however, not knowing exactly what was wrong, my mind of course wondered thinking the worse for myself. Anyway, after 42 minutes we ascended where the nausea and vertigo really set in and I preceded to vomit on the surface. I knew I was done diving. Next step was to figure out what the heck went wrong.
So I was thinking on the boat during the SI and the other's second dive that a simple call to DAN would be the best plan. DAN would probably receive calls like this daily? They'd know exactly what the problem was based on my symptoms and would be able to prescribe a treatment until I returned home. So we called the non emergency number racking up a $16 charge without ever getting someone to talk to. Then we called the emergency number where our collect charges were declined and still not able to speak to anyone. We then proceeded to call Jeanie at Blue Angel who coincidentally already called our room leaving us a message based on info our DM, Tony had reported back about my injury. She recommended we stop at the SSS Hyperbaric Medical Center on Calle 5 Sur. I eventually saw Dr. Victor Morales Ceballos who diagnosed I had a puncture consisting of 2% of the membrane in my left ear and some trauma in my right ear. The rest was lost in translation but it was all I needed to know. He prescribed Varidasa tablets to be taken 3 times a day for 6 days and to keep the ear dry. No need for antibiotics as I just finished taking Zithromax before the trip to get over an infection I was fighting.
For the first 48 hours, I experienced an wired sensation of water in my ear that was more irritating than painful. After that, no pain or discomfort to speak of, just some loss of hearing. And the flight home was without incident. Dr. Ceballos said there would be no cause for concern as air would freely move in and out of the inner ear with pressure changes.
I do intend to call DAN and see what the policy is for obtaining information about that sort of injury I had and voice my concerns about not being able to speak with someone. However, I'm fully aware that my injury was minor and that I'm sure someplace, somewhere something worse was going on. In any event, I called both numbers to no avail. Luckily it was minor in my case. I'm probably also going to submit a claim mainly because the visit to the clinic along with the medicine was together, somewhat expensive. Not that I'm not willing to take responsibility for myself but it was a diving injury and that's why I have diving insurance.
I should add that I also ruptured both ear drums as a kid. Dr. Ceballos said that once you have a rupture your more susceptible to future injuries as only 2 of the 3 layers that make up the membrane will heal. So I may be in the same boat again in the future.
Lesson learned: Don't push it next time with congestion even though you can equalize. I truly think that for 8 or so days prior to the injury that I blew my nose consistently in an attempt to drain all the snot from my head to clear things up. Next time, I just cancel the trip.... that's why I have trip insurance.
In the end, the trip wasn't a total bust. I didn't get to fully enjoy using my new camera setup (Canon G9 in an Ike housing) but I did make the best of it and enjoyed the pools at FA and even went snorkeling, with an ear plug of course, on Sunday. I think I saw more snorkeling than I did in the 6 previous dives! I just wasn't able to get as close as I'm used to. We also met some fantastic people at FA including fellow SB'er Okiejeff and his wife. The real damper was the weather the went foul starting on the day of my injury.
It's too bad because I was just getting the hang of that G9....
Ugh, I guess it's back to the old daily grind.
