billt4sf
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Call DAN first.
The bends in Cozumel
- Thread starter Blue73
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Mike Boswell
Contributor
As I understand it, the man and his wife noted that she had symptoms and immediately called for help, which was just minutes away. That was the right thing to do, and Cozumel has excellent treatment facilities very close by. With the huge number of divers there, this scenario is probably not uncommon, and afaik Coz has a pretty decent record of safety.
While I agree that oxygen should have been provided in the case of a 20-minute wait, it may simply be that nobody expected it to take that long.
I think the OP's concern and willingness to take action are admirable, and I would hope that if I were ever in trouble, there would be someone like him (and his wife) nearby.
While I agree that oxygen should have been provided in the case of a 20-minute wait, it may simply be that nobody expected it to take that long.
I think the OP's concern and willingness to take action are admirable, and I would hope that if I were ever in trouble, there would be someone like him (and his wife) nearby.
Stoo
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I found myself in a similar situation this summer. While returning from a dive in the shop's RHIB, we slammed into a wave which sent most of the passengers that had been sitting on the tubes flying. Literally. The guy sitting behind my wife took her out like a bowling pin, knocking her to the deck, landing on the back of her lower leg, and breaking her tibia and fibula in four places...
To cut to the chase, over the next 20 minutes, bedlam ensued with swamped, nearly flipped boats and a wife with increasing numbness in her extremities. I hollered for their 02 kit (not because I was overly concerned about her taking a hit since our profiles that morning had been shallow, but long, but it was our fourth day of diving, and I felt it would just help to relax Mrs. Stoo even though she was managing it like a Trooper.
I think I can best describe their reaction to my 02 request as somewhere between "reluctant" and "really, friggin' slow"... It never made it the 8' it had to move in the 15 minutes or so between the time I asked for it and the time that the paramedics arrived at the wharf. I asked for theirs and had it on her face in less than a minute.
Initially, I thought that the crew was just overwhelmed with what was going on. Since then, I have come to the conclusion that the bottle may have been empty. I base this largely on my observation of the crew guy opening the DAN kit, and then him proceeding to fiddle continuously...
Anyway, I'll never know, but it was bloody annoying.
To cut to the chase, over the next 20 minutes, bedlam ensued with swamped, nearly flipped boats and a wife with increasing numbness in her extremities. I hollered for their 02 kit (not because I was overly concerned about her taking a hit since our profiles that morning had been shallow, but long, but it was our fourth day of diving, and I felt it would just help to relax Mrs. Stoo even though she was managing it like a Trooper.
I think I can best describe their reaction to my 02 request as somewhere between "reluctant" and "really, friggin' slow"... It never made it the 8' it had to move in the 15 minutes or so between the time I asked for it and the time that the paramedics arrived at the wharf. I asked for theirs and had it on her face in less than a minute.
Initially, I thought that the crew was just overwhelmed with what was going on. Since then, I have come to the conclusion that the bottle may have been empty. I base this largely on my observation of the crew guy opening the DAN kit, and then him proceeding to fiddle continuously...
Anyway, I'll never know, but it was bloody annoying.
Mike Boswell
Contributor
Caveat emptor.
I have learned through great misfortune that it is up to each diver to satisfy themselves that the dive op they are dealing with is reputable and has the needed safety equipment and training, including O2.
I have learned through great misfortune that it is up to each diver to satisfy themselves that the dive op they are dealing with is reputable and has the needed safety equipment and training, including O2.
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