12th Man
Contributor
I was in the hospital for 40 days with covid, 16 of those days in the ICU and 6 on a ventilator. During an office visit about 45 days after being released my lung doctor noticed I didn't have much air entering my right lung. My x-ray showed my right lung elevated as well as the diaphragm. He scheduled for a CT scan and a sniff test (live x-ray) to see what my lungs where doing when I breathed in and out. The sniff test showed my right lung diaphragm isn't functioning. It's not moving up and down as it should. He let me know the lung is healthy and air is still going in but not much air. My CT scan shows a small amount of scare tissue on the left lung from the covid Pneumonia.
We were thinking Covid damaged my right lung and my diving days are over. He searched my medical records and came across a 2013 CT Scan I had done. My right lung was elevated and the diaphragm is in the exact same position. He said I could have been born with it or it happened prior to the 2013 CT scans. I've done well over a hundred dives since 2013 and many before it. I'm never once had any issues. Also when it comes to air consumption, I tend to have a lot more air in my tanks than most of the divers I'm with when we come up.
I'm still recovering from Covid, as it's been a slow process. Hopefully by mid to late summer I'll be well enough to dive again. However, before dropping off the side of a boat, I'm going to Texas Medical Center in Dallas where they have a hyperbaric chamber. I'll be able to get dive tested. I hope an pray the test goes well if I have it done. If so I'll start slow on my dives, doing 40 to 60' reef dives and build from there.
The doc also let me know I was as close to miracle as you could get being on a ventilator for six days with one lung and surviving.
We were thinking Covid damaged my right lung and my diving days are over. He searched my medical records and came across a 2013 CT Scan I had done. My right lung was elevated and the diaphragm is in the exact same position. He said I could have been born with it or it happened prior to the 2013 CT scans. I've done well over a hundred dives since 2013 and many before it. I'm never once had any issues. Also when it comes to air consumption, I tend to have a lot more air in my tanks than most of the divers I'm with when we come up.
I'm still recovering from Covid, as it's been a slow process. Hopefully by mid to late summer I'll be well enough to dive again. However, before dropping off the side of a boat, I'm going to Texas Medical Center in Dallas where they have a hyperbaric chamber. I'll be able to get dive tested. I hope an pray the test goes well if I have it done. If so I'll start slow on my dives, doing 40 to 60' reef dives and build from there.
The doc also let me know I was as close to miracle as you could get being on a ventilator for six days with one lung and surviving.
