My little bend.................again

[Steve S]

Hi all,

I thought I'd repost this story of my bend from July 17th 05. The whole thread is here my little bend ;) and hopefully it may influence someone in a similar situation.

Originally posted 20th July 05
Firstly I would like to thank everyone for the pms, calls, texts and concerns shown since it happened. I am grateful and it is very humbling. Special thanks, in no particular order, go to Lynne for taking me to A & E, Blaniad for carrying me down the pontoon, Juz for contacting Haslar, Padowan for the O2, Fiona for the calls and visit, Dave for sorting out my parking on the hard and everyone else on the boat for their advice, obvious concern and for not letting me drive home.

The Beginning – on arrival at Itchenor Hard due to a miss-understanding with the Harbour Master I ended up having to tab my gear a lot further than necessary, although I assume this had no bearing on my problem as the dive was some 4 hours later.

On the long journey to the dive site I drank plenty of water, and as usual was kept entertained by the witty banter on board.

The Dive – I would like to say that there was something of a smoking gun found in the dive that could be attributed to my subsequent problem but none could be found. The dive itself was conducted on a 33.7% nitrox mix with my alladin Pro set to 32%. The max depth of the dive was at 31.7 metres. With the majority of the bottom time at 29-30 metres. After 31 minutes we slowly ascended and took 9 minutes to reach our stop depth. By this time I only had 3 minutes of mandatory deco. I padded it out to 10 minutes; I then surfaced with a total dive time of 50 minutes.

After climbing back on board Taurus I de-kitted and set up for the next dive. After aprox’ 15 minutes I felt something like a bee-sting in my left trapezium. After rolling my shoulder a couple of times it went. Then some 45 minutes later something I can only describe as vertigo hit me. Putting this down to either a touch of mal de mere or an equalisation problem I decided to lie on the deck until it passed, it didn’t. Everyone kept checking on me through out the day and offering drinks etc. Despite the break and missing the second dive I felt no better or worse then the initial onset.

After the boat docked I tried to walk down the pontoon and found that some ba*tard had stolen my legs and replaced them with rubber ones. If it hadn’t been for the timely intervention of Blanid and Lou I would have ended up in the sea. I was de-kitted, sat down in a chair and put on O2. Juz contacted Haslar, who recommended I go to A and E for an initial check-up. By this time I was in full denial mode and intent on getting home, thinking if I did have a problem it could be sorted out there. Thankfully every one's instance made this idea a no-brainer.

A & E – Lynne took me to the A & E and carried me in and it was a typical Summer Sunday night in Casualty, full of sunburnt screaming children, BBQ injuries and plethora of walking wounded. No sooner had I been sat down, expecting a long wait, I was fetched in to the examination room. I was attended by Ian, who is a DM at Ocean View. After the initial exam I was put on O2 and informed that I would more than likely need re-compression at Haslar. It was then that I was allowed to make a phone call home and tell my long suffering wife, Tracy ( who is typing this ) that I wouldn’t be coming home. After a couple of hours on O2 I was transferred by ambulance to Haslar.

Haslar – on arrival I was given a load of tests all of which I passed, except the eye following and the heel to toe, which according to the doc I failed in the most spectacular fashion he had seen in a while. It was decided that I should under go an initial level 6 table re-compression. The chamber was quite large which was a relief, but this was quickly off set by having to wear a Doctor No/Doctor Evil style oxygen hood. During the oxygen breaks I underwent more tests the results of which improved only slightly.

After the re-compression I was transferred on to a ward for r&r, where later on I had a very welcome visit from Fiona. It was decided that I should under go a further re-compression session lasting 3 hours in the afternoon. The surgeon commander saw me at 6 and confirmed that I had suffered an undeserved inner ear de-compression sickness. He was quite confident (85-90%) that I wouldn’t be left with any lasting problem from this. On Tuesday morning after examination they decided I had reached a plateau with regard to the re-compression and so I was discharged.

Unfortunately I can’t dive for 8 weeks and I have to go back to Haslar in 4 weeks. So I will be missing the Scapa and Mull trips. At present I walk with a very decided pull to the right, similar to the '‘you’ve been framed’' people you see who made themselves dizzy spinning around a broom handle and I cannot move my head without nausea, but I am slowly improving.

Conclusion – the Doc said there was no apparent reason for this hit and that had I not done so many dives previously without incident he would recommend a PFO check. He said my diabetes wasn’t a factor. Looking back perhaps I should have sought help sooner, although I genuinely didn’t think that these symptoms were indications of a bend – lesson learnt.

So thanks again for your kind thoughts and good wishes and to quote Arnie ‘I’ll be back’

Safe diving,
Steve

Update

I was cleared to dive without restriction after 5 weeks and I have since changed many aspects of my diving and have voraciously read up on IIDCS, PFO's and decompression theory. I have rebuilt my confidence gradually and have completed 105 dives post bend and most of them involving much longer run times and greater depth than the offending one.

Things I have learned in no particular order, heavy exercise pre dive is a risk factor, and that coupled with dehydration was the most likely cause of my bend according to Haslar.

Although the dive was well within the parameters of my v-planner +2 and alladin pro computer, my physical make up reacts best to v-planner +5 and I use a 50% stage on all dives past 30m now. I realise that for some of the dives I was undertaking the deco regime was too aggressive.

Ensure proper hydration with a drink containing salts and sugars as opposed to plain water, and avoid heavy exercise pre and post dive.

Finally and most importantly never underestimate the power of denial, I teach that often the first symptom of DCS is denial, and that knowledge went straight over the gunnel's when I experienced it. I cannot stress enough the tunnel visioned denial I had, and to this day I can't understand it.
As we docked, I can now admit that deep down I knew I was bent but still the denial continued, and If I could have bluffed my way to the car and set off, I could have possibly killed myself or worse someone else while trying to drive home in that state.

I was a firefighter for 10 years and my selfish blinkered thinking and my potential risk to others at that time haunts me to this day.

I hope my story will help you not make the same mistake I did in those circumstances, and to seek help much earlier if you suspect a problem, after all there is no reason to feel any shame or embarrassment with regard to DCS.

Safe diving,
Steve

[GLOC]

Thanks Steve for posting this. Having been a subject of denial (although it wasn't linked to a bend fortunately), I know how strong the feeling can be.

Glad to hear you made a full recovery too.

[warmwaterdiver]

Glad to hear your back to dive fitness Steve

Denial is denial, thats when friends can become good friends

You never know when it'll hit again

I do, the next time I want your space on a boat

Best Wishes
Gary

[Woz]

It's the old dilemma:

"Are you bent?"
"Yes"
"To the pot with you!"

"Are you bent?"
"No"
"Denial! To the pot with you!"

It's catch 22. The proper form should be:
"Are you bent?"
"I don't know what do you think?"
"I don't know"
"Denial! Off to the pot for the questioner!"

[Dave Crampton]

Originally Posted by Woz

It's the old dilemma:

"Are you bent?"
"Yes"
"To the pot with you!"

"Are you bent?"
"No"
"Denial! To the pot with you!"

It's catch 22. The proper form should be:
"Are you bent?"
"I don't know what do you think?"
"I don't know"
"Denial! Off to the pot for the questioner!"

hmm, reminds me of:

What is your name?
What is your favorite colour?
What is the air speed velocitycof a Sparrow....

[David Pye]

It's the messiah!
Look, I'm not the bloody messiah!
Only the true messiah denies he is the messiah!
OK, I am the bloody messiah!
He is the messiah!

[stevechesh]

Glad to hear that you are Ok Steve, but without wishing to hijack the thread, has anyone else here personally been the subject of "denial"?

I know i have, to be honest. Even to the point where i stopped the car on the journey home, assembled the regs on my deco stage, put the stage on the passenger seat (seatbelt was naturally used!) and continued the remainder of the 3 hour journey home with a reg in my mouth breathing until my O2 ran out! Silly, silly silly, looking back now, but i think that in hindsight i "may" have been in denial......


regards

Steve

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by stevechesh

Glad to hear that you are Ok Steve, but without wishing to hijack the thread, has anyone else here personally been the subject of "denial"?

I know i have, to be honest. Even to the point where i stopped the car on the journey home, assembled the regs on my deco stage, put the stage on the passenger seat (seatbelt was naturally used!) and continued the remainder of the 3 hour journey home with a reg in my mouth breathing until my O2 ran out! Silly, silly silly, looking back now, but i think that in hindsight i "may" have been in denial......


regards

Steve

No worries at all Steve mate, that's what this section was created for and why I posted my experience. And thanks for posting yours.

Safe diving,
Steve

[Dave Abraham]

Originally Posted by stevechesh

Glad to hear that you are Ok Steve, but without wishing to hijack the thread, has anyone else here personally been the subject of "denial"?

I had a pet crocodile once who told me he spent most of his life in DE NILE
Had to get it in before some one else did.

[applepie]

Originally Posted by Dave Abraham

I had a pet crocodile once who told me he spent most of his life in DE NILE
Had to get it in before some one else did.

LMAO i actually laughed at that! along with the other responses.

thats another advantage of a good buddy, in another incident where my mate got bent (reasons unknown). he was in denial but the skipper (a good mate of ours) immediately packed him off to the chamber within secs of talking to him. job done.