Reading Diver Down

[jennasnyder1980]

So I have been glued to this board lately and picked up Diver Down a few days ago and have been scared out of my wetsuit. I know all of this can be prevented in many cases, but I've also been pretty scared about having an embolism. I have minor asthma and am scared that one day I will have a lung embolism, or a huge current will take me out and no one will ever find me again.

But the best thing that I can say is I think I will think twice before I jump in so easily. In Thailand, I let myself be rushed in the water and had problems with equipment that led to a shared air ascent that I know could have been prevented.

Has anyone read this book? I almost feel like some of this more common scenarios should be reviewed with divers (read a few together as a class).

Thanks
Jen

 

[H2Andy]

i browsed through it at Barnes and Nobles (or Books A Million), and it seemed like
a bunch of bone-headed decisions that got the divers into trouble.

it's a good primer on what not to do. don't let it scare you; learn from it and
don't do those things.

accident analyzis is one of the best ways to become a safer diver (all
in the comfort of your own home).

 

[Rick Inman]

The book is an extended re-write of the monthly accident ("Lessons for Life") articles in Rodales ragazine. Some have suggested that the stories are enriched for dramatic purposes, but I wouldn't know if this is true or not.

It is good to assess these types of scuba events and learn from them, but not become frightened by them.

 

[Steve Egner]

jennasnyder 1980 said

I will think twice before I jump in

It had a similar effect on me... a reminder that there are a lot of people counting on my safe return from every dive.

Steve

 

[ItsBruce]

I am currently reading the book and find it a good reminder about the practical application of what we learn in OW and AOW about safety. I concur with Andy and Rick.

As far as being freightened by what you read in the book, I could provide you with accident reports on auto accidents that would scare you away from driving a car. Heck, I've seen accident reports where people were killed by falling vending machines that would keep you from buying sodas from vending machines! The world is not a safe place, but you must be like the tortoise ... to get ahead, you must stick out your neck a bit. My current mantra is: Living life entails risk, just make sure you manage that risk well.

 

[spectrum]

I enjoyed reading it this winter. Actually it was like 2 books. I read all of the tales and then came back through reading the sidebar features of interest.

Read the tales and learn from them. By knowing history we can avoid repeating our mistakes.

Pete

 

[made for it]

Dear Jen,
Unfortunately I have not come across this book "yet" however as ‘spectrum’ says "Read the tales and learn from them" every activity has some risk factor involved("Its bruce" said) so please do not step back from diving so quickly, there are SO many things to discover out there…and this can be done safely. As you learned on your open water course, there are risks and you have be shown how to deal with some a lot of them, if you stay with in your training limits and don't be intimidated by others to push your training boundaries with out proper supervision i.e. instructor…then all should be well.
However more alarming to me is that you have mild asthma...I live and work as a Dive Medic in Thailand and I am aware of there pre-dive medical check up’s. So my question is "Did you get a 'proper' asthma check up by a dive doctor?" If not, then I advice you to do so, before proceeding further into diving as a precaution.

Madeforit DMT
(Diver Medical Technician)

 

[jennasnyder1980]

Dear Jen,
Unfortunately I have not come across this book "yet" however as ‘spectrum’ says "Read the tales and learn from them" every activity has some risk factor involved("Its bruce" said) so please do not step back from diving so quickly, there are SO many things to discover out there…and this can be done safely. As you learned on your open water course, there are risks and you have be shown how to deal with some a lot of them, if you stay with in your training limits and don't be intimidated by others to push your training boundaries with out proper supervision i.e. instructor…then all should be well.
However more alarming to me is that you have mild asthma...I live and work as a Dive Medic in Thailand and I am aware of there pre-dive medical check up’s. So my question is "Did you get a 'proper' asthma check up by a dive doctor?" If not, then I advice you to do so, before proceeding further into diving as a precaution.

Madeforit DMT
(Diver Medical Technician)

Madeforit DMT

I must admit, I didn't get a "proper" asthma check up by a dive doctor but will look into it. I don't have health insurance right now so it's something that I put off. I had always thought that the risk to diving with asthma was if you have an attack you wouldn't be able to breathe if it was serious. My asthma is pretty mild so I figured that I could at least just abort the dive and ascend. After reading more from SCUBAboard and the book, I realized that the risk is far more serious and am trying to find a diving doctor.

Do you recommend how to find one? Is there a directory of dive doctors out there? Does that mean I can't dive with asthma????

Thanks so much for helping me.

Jennifer

 

[ba_hiker]

... I think I will think twice before I jump in so easily. In Thailand, I let myself be rushed in the
water

Nothing wrong with thinking twice about somehing that can be dangerious. I always (knock on wood) double check that my SPG reads something reasonable, by computer looks good, my reg delivers air, my bc inflates and deflates, my mask and fins are on and stable.

Flying I follow checklists carefully and still double check with a GUMP (gas, undercarrage, mixture, and prop) check on short final.

Getting rushed is bad.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

Jenna,

I'm reading it now...a little light reading before bed some nights.

To me the scenarios described mostly boil down to a chain of events that should have been interrupted at some point. And, as you point out, a lot of them really deal with rushing or allowing oneself to be pressured.

It would not stop me from diving, but hopefully from making a mistake.

Safe diving.

Jeff