La Jolla Woman Diver in Critical Condition.

[Mike Boswell]

Monday, July 19, 2010. From Del Mar Times.net

Quote:

Woman in critical condition after being rescued by La Jolla lifeguards

11:00 AM
By Dave Schwab

An unidentified woman who was found unconscious Sunday morning in the waters off La Jolla Shores was in critical condition Monday morning.

"La Jolla Shores lifeguards Sunday observed a scuba diver on the surface of the water floating face down unconscious about 10:15 a.m.," said Lifeguard lt. Andy Lerum. "It was a female in her 40s and they brought her to the beach and began performing CPR."

Lerum said the woman was transported by paramedics to UCSD Thornton Hospital as medics continued CPR.

Lifeguards unsuccessfully contacted local diving groups in an attempt to identify the woman. Lerum said lifeguards also contacted other divers who had been diving near where the woman was found, and two of them said the woman had been with them when they went out to dive, but on the way out she told them she wasn't feeling well and had a leaky mask. She reportedly told them that she had decided not to dive and for them to go ahead and that she was returning to shore.

"Sometime between leaving them and going back to the beach, she had some sort of medical situation which ended up in her being unconscious," said Lerum.

Lerum said the report this morning from the hospital was that she was on a ventilator and showing very little brain activity.

Unquote.

Source: DelMarTimes.net | Woman in critical condition after being rescued by La Jolla lifeguards

 

[DandyDon]

...two of them said the woman had been with them when they went out to dive, but on the way out she told them she wasn't feeling well and had a leaky mask. She reportedly told them that she had decided not to dive and for them to go ahead and that she was returning to shore.

I am a firm believer in "we descend together, and we ascend together" along with staying together for the interim. I guess it would seem polite to call a dive that way, so they wouldn't have to swim back with her - but no.

Otherwise call it same-ocean solo-diving and live (hopefully) with your call.

 

[leabre]

I agree with Dandy. If I dive with someone and for any reason they feel a need to turn back, then my dive is over. I have on a single occasion told a dive bud of mine (a group) (when I forgot my hood) I'll go ahead and see if it's too cold and spare you from ascending with me and accompanying me out (of a place where you don't want to do that) and nearly drowned for it. Since then my rule is "we enter together we exit together". Period~

 

[stakanak]

Very sad. I don't know why but it seems a little fishy to me.
If divers are swimming out together and someone needs to turn back...well in the very least no one descends until all are safe, especially if the one turning back is ill.

 

[Mike Boswell]

I think that when someone thumbs a dive, regardless of the reasons they give, you need to:

A. ASSUME that they might need immediate medical attention.
B. STAY WITH THEM until they are safely back on shore or boat with other people.

 

[tardmaster]

I think that when someone thumbs a dive, regardless of the reasons they give, you need to:

A. ASSUME that they might need immediate medical attention.
B. STAY WITH THEM until they are safely back on shore or boat with other people.

What Mike just said..........P-E-R-I-O-D !!!!

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I think that when someone thumbs a dive, regardless of the reasons they give, you need to:

A. ASSUME that they might need immediate medical attention.
B. STAY WITH THEM until they are safely back on shore or boat with other people.

1+. The "with other people" is especially important if the person is thumbing the dive for any type of health reason. Serious health emergencies often start with vague "not feeling well" symptoms, and this needs to be considered.

Best wishes.

 

[DandyDon]

I think that when someone thumbs a dive, regardless of the reasons they give, you need to:

A. ASSUME that they might need immediate medical attention.
B. STAY WITH THEM until they are safely back on shore or boat with other people.

Stick to that when you are challenged, when some new buddy runs out of air long before you, when you run out first and get waved up - him staying down, when either of you have problems descending and can't, when you're swimming out from shore and one decides to turn back, whatever! Read a few hundred accident reports here and you'll see...

A significant number of the recreational dive accidents happen on the surface; and

Alone!​

She may well have told the other guys to go ahead without her, but I bet they wish they hadn't now.

I've read and seen married couples who think it's fine for one to drop to the bottom while the other with problem ears works his/her way down later, or one runs out of air first ascending alone while the other stays below. Not good.

I screw up plenty myself, but generally would rather same-ocean dive along with my 19 cf pony than depend on many I've dived with. That attitude has got me into trouble at times, and I try to work with buddies, but only if they'll agree to the above - and dive that plan.

My home bud is a little bad about this, but he's the one who takes a long time to equalize on descent while I'm ready to drop - so it gives me a chance to emphasize, and often: "We stay together, period. I'll stay with you on descent, and we stay together beyond, ascending together, SStopping together, surfacing together, exiting together" with an occasional failure for me to nag about.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Don, Lots of diving accidents happen on the surface, many with people around them, many without anyone.

All we know is the location and the condition they found her. What happened may or may not have been different if the other divers had gone up with her.

I would agree, that if someone has a physical reasons for calling a dive, someone should go with them. I would also say that some conditions warrant divers staying together. But calm seas, surface safety people and no current conditions are very different.

La Jolla, could involve a lot of gear toting, rough seas and a long swim... it could just as easily be a very easy dive. If the former, then going back with the person calling the dive means a lot of work, and most likely not diving. An easy choice if this is your dive buddy, but not so easy if it is an insta-buddy you just met. Would be willing to bet if it was an insta-buddy, and they were joining a group, that 9 out of 10 times, the others would let the person go. Perhaps not the right thing to do, but human nature.

 

[Mike Boswell]

Don, Lots of diving accidents happen on the surface, many with people around them, many without anyone.

All we know is the location and the condition they found her. What happened may or may not have been different if the other divers had gone up with her.

I would agree, that if someone has a physical reasons for calling a dive, someone should go with them. I would also say that some conditions warrant divers staying together. But calm seas, surface safety people and no current conditions are very different.

La Jolla, could involve a lot of gear toting, rough seas and a long swim... it could just as easily be a very easy dive. If the former, then going back with the person calling the dive means a lot of work, and most likely not diving. An easy choice if this is your dive buddy, but not so easy if it is an insta-buddy you just met. Would be willing to bet if it was an insta-buddy, and they were joining a group, that 9 out of 10 times, the others would let the person go. Perhaps not the right thing to do, but human nature.

I agree that this would be most people's initial response. I think these fatalities are forcing us to re-think the wisdom of that response. Personally, I would be devastated if I were one of the divers who had let her return to shore alone.