Life for 1 vs. Death for 2

[DaleC]

My question would be: How would you react if you were in a serious situation and needed your buddies help but they swam away and left you. After extricating yourself you find them on the surface and when you ask them why they left they say they knew you weren't going to make it anyways.

 

[Tigerman]

So, a thread based on another thread got me thinking... and I'll apologize now for making you think about this... but I think it'll bring up some nice discussions and maybe a bit of humor, however sadistic it may be

What would you do if there was a problem with your buddy and you KNEW for a FACT that there was no way BOTH of you were making it out alive... forcing you to make the ultimate decision of leaving them to only save yourself or staying so you both die together?

Do you think you would do the same for a stranger vs. a spouse/parent/child/relative/close friend?

If you decided to stay and they try to make you go, what would you do?

Now, imagine if you chose to leave them for dead and they physically fought you to last it out... could you look that person in the eye and fight back?

I guess this is what so many movies and books play on, is not a unique idea to scuba, and a classic conflict of greed vs the human connection (ohhhhh, a horrible choice of words, I dunno what to call it...? you know what I mean, lol).

For me, honestly, if it's a stranger.... I think they're screwed, even if they fought back. I'd probably feel like crap for the rest of my life, but I think I could live with it. If it's not a stranger, I think I could only leave if they told me to in a not-so-frazzled state of mind... otherwise, I think guilt would take the best of me and there would be 2 bodies down there.

If I knew for a FACT that not both of us would make it out, the first question in my mind is who F-ed up. If it was "the other guy" that F-ed it up then "the other guy" is permanently screwed as Id rather take my chance with the shrink afterfwards.

Now heres the thing though - Ive BEEN forced to make a **** decision while diving. It was also early in my diving while I was doing my AOW course and we had been at 30 meters for close to the NDL when my buddy started to ascend at a too high pace, so I tried to get hold of her and stop her, but she was still going away from me when I was ascending at almost five times the recommended ascent rates.
So now Im faced with the choice of keep trying to chase her down and risk hurting myself trying to avoid her hurting herself or "letting her go".
By the time I was at 23ish meters I made, what nobody can change my mind about being the right choice and let her go.
Fortunately this was at the line as we where about to surface and when I got to 5m she was hanging on to the line for her life and she got to hang there for a very extended safetystop before we surfaced. The reasone turned out to be a stuck inflator and she didnt think of disconnecting it, nor did I have the chance before she was out of my reach.
The reason WHY I let her go and am convinced that was the only right choice (by the time she was ascending uncontrolled) is simply the fact that if I am decomissiond from DCS, I wont be any good to her anyways - 1 injured is better than 2.

As to wether it would make a difference to me if its a stranger or my significant other - most definetly. I wouldnt hesitate to put my life on the line for my family but I would think twice for a total stranger..

 

[phuonguyen]

Better thee, than me.

I would let them go. As I see it, I'm #1, and everyone else does not matter when it really boils down to the end, because I make my own decisions and I have to be responsible for them.

It does sound very morbidly cruel and blunt, and it is; I've seen someone come in for a routine chest xray, only to be diagnosed with advanced cancer, the patient died, but it brings home the point that everyone's gonna die sometime.

 

[genxweb]

1. I am very glad no direct family members dive with me. Though my daughter is starting show interest. Anything pass basic recreational I will not allow her to do with me once she is certified and trained. It is a stress factor that non recreational dives just don't need.

2. As many people said this should never happen with a properly planned and executed recreational dive. Yes wild cards do happen but the error chain is much longer in rec diving.

3. If tech diving you have already accepted the fact that you may die and that no one can save you due to the nature of the dive. If you have not accepted that don't tech dive. With that being said you are #1 priority. By planning your dive and diving your plan between all the redundancies of your team you should almost never run into a problem but problems do happen. If a team member can not be rescued from a situation then you need to save yourself. They should have accepted the same as you and if not should not of dove. With that being said I will make a valid attempt to help rescue my team mates based on current reaming air and decompression obligation. If I can not safely exit the water myself I will make a promise to you that I will recover your body for your family to have closure.

 

[OldNSalty]

Is this the Kobayashi Maru test? If so, like Kirk I don't believe in a no win situation.

If I were that wreck diver hearing the knocking of some stranger and I was already on my way out with no reserve, maybe my buddy had an issue and we are already sharing air; I will get to the surface as quick as I can and let someone know but you are probably screwed.

If you are my insta buddy, I am watching you to the point of being a bother and trying to prevent any thing from going wrong and I will do everything I can to get us both to the surface but if I can't...it is hard for me to imagine where I can't but I guess I leave you.

If you are my wife, I will fight as long and hard as I can to save you and if only one of us is making it out it is you...if the situation is that only I can make it out but you can't then...well...I'm out becuase we have kids. I expect her to do the same and we have actually discussed this.

If you are my child, there is no situation where I willingly survive and you don't...even if I can.

 

[cbm32]

In reading through this thread my logical response is that if they is a clear choice between them dieing or us both dieing than it is a pretty simple decision.

What is scary is that, knowing my ego, I cant imagine accepting that there is not a way for us both to survive. That is just who I am. So far I have been right, but one day it may well result in my death.

 

[slugdiver]

Rule #1: Never, ever allow your dive buddy, or a stranger, to put you in harm's way.
As an example, if both of you agree to a bottom depth of 100' and one takes off for 200', you have two choices only. Wait for their return or wave bye-bye.
There is no cure for stupid.
On the flip side, I know I would gladly risk my life saving my wife and she would do the same for me.
That is why we adhere to Rule #1.