I Got Bent. 5 Lessons From My Recent Decompression Sickness (D.C.S) Incident

Рет қаралды 119,555

Күн бұрын

I Got Bent. 5 Lessons From My Recent Decompression Sickness (D.C.S) Incident. Last month I suffered my first decompression sickness (DCS) incident. I have been a diver for 22 years and a dive professional for 13 years.
The fact that I am a CCR diver, Ice Diving Instructor; Advanced Wreck Instructor; Technical Diving Instructor; Mixed Gas Instructor; CCR diver; Dive Safety Officer; Expedition Diver; Dive Resort Manager and more titles I could list, shows that no-one is safe from DCS or ‘The Bends.’
DCS or ‘Caissons’ Disease’ is a conditions that affects divers where bubbles can form in the body (usually in the blood or other fluids or tissues.) This is a serious physiological condition and I was very lucky my DCS hit was only a very mild one. I still required treatment in a recompression chamber, though.
In this video, I will talk candidly about the dive, what happened to my body and my treatment and recovery. I will also share the five lessons I learned in the days and weeks following my DCS incident. Most importantly, I can not recommend Dive Accident Insurance strongly enough for all scuba divers.
Scuba diving is an inherently dangerous sport. We all accept the risks any time we scuba dive. I am very fortunate that I am able to continue my career in scuba diving.
Thanks as always for watching!
D.S.D.O
James
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I Got Bent. 5 Lessons From My Recent Decompression Sickness (D.C.S) Incident

Пікірлер: 664

@azonmarina 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing this! Almost a year ago, I had a pretty normal recreational dive but when I left the water, in a 40 degree Celcius Malta day, I started getting funny vision. Then I made it home, where I thought my skin was changing colour (my friends and SO could not spot it) and after I showered, I could not breathe properly. I calmly told my friends, who called DAN and the diving center we were with. They quickly drove to our place with Oxygen in hand, took me to the hospital and to the hyperbaric chamber. The amazing part of this all is that the doctor told me it was a heart defect. It's called PFO, apparently present in 25-30% of people, but normally mild enough to not matter. In my case, I was a very small percentage. Option 1 was to quit diving (HAH!). Option 2 was to quickly get it fixed. It was the easiest of procedures and now I am back in the water. But your mention of Symptom Denial was what took 3:30h for me to make it to the hospital (almost 3 to get oxygen). And also, I realised there are barely any mentions on how long it can take you to recover from DCS. I spent a month felt like I had been beaten up inside and out. Foggy brain and all. But I am sure if I had reacted faster, I would have recovered faster too, so that's on me. Worth sharing these experiences for sure! Glad you are okay and making awesome videos, as always!

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing your story Marina! I'm pinning this comment to the top of the thread! So important!

@diveguernsey6521 2 жыл бұрын

PFO is a bit of a grey area now. A lot seem to be transitory. I tested positive for one both locally and at the specialist. Both times with a blatant bubble contrast. But when I went for the closure they couldn't physically find a hole.

@RuiMiguelDaSilvaPinto 2 жыл бұрын

I also got it with tec dive plan, which was flawless, I did the same thing double check my gear, my dive plan, my computer and data outputs, everything...so yes. This does happen...

@whaleshark2625 2 жыл бұрын

Simon Pridmore talks a bit about PFOs in his Scuba Exceptional book - highly recommend it1 Next on my list is his book Scuba Physiological

@sapperstang Жыл бұрын

My friend and dive buddy had the same thing happen. We were doing a shallow dive for fossils in a river on a hot day. Due to the shallow water we were down for nearly 3 hours. After getting out he didn't fell well. Later that night he had bubbles under the skin in his neck and other symptoms. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and later found out about PFO. Like you, he had this corrected and has not had an issue on any kind of dive we have done.

@davewakely6391 2 жыл бұрын

James, thank you for this. We in the Dive Industry do not talk about this enough. Symptom denial is a real thing and is probably the biggest factor for recreational divers getting more seriously injured than they should have done. I am a dive doctor, running the chamber in Bermuda, and I see people presenting late all the time. In fact when I had my DCS hit, (way before I became a Dive Physician- just saying!) I denied my symptoms completely and never went for help. You described beautifully the initiation and development of a neurological bend, had you not asked for help you could, potentially, have been really sick. So kudos to you for overcoming your symptom denial.

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

You must be Holly's Dad?! My wife and I dived with Holly and Mark in Bermuda this time last year and had them over for dinner here in Miami last November! Some of my favorite people in diving! Thanks for stopping by, Dr Dave!

@hornplayer10 2 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU!! I got an undeserved hit in October and I’ve been embarrassed/nervous to get back in the water since. Everything you experienced, I experienced as well down to the symptoms and perfect execution of the plan. Didn’t have as nice of a chamber to sit in 🤣 but thank you for making this video. I feel so much better going back into dive season knowing I’m not crazy!

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thank YOU so much Joshua! Glad you're doing better! Come on in! The water misses you!

@gabiausten8774 7 күн бұрын

Did you get over your fear?

@mikesbigadventures194 2 жыл бұрын

As soon as I saw the title I thought, “another Gareth Locke fan”. Mad respect for telling the story. More people need to do this.

@drewbursey6022 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing James! One of my dive buddies said "you never know how close you are to being bent until it's too late". Every dive we could be so close to being bent but don't know because we don't get any symptoms until we get bent. You made me get dive insurance! Thank you (and it's really cheap too!)

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Drew! I'm happy to hear it!

@zacbell4277 2 жыл бұрын

James thank you. I have had 2 undeserved hits and kept it a secret. It’s embarrassing and it’s terrifying. This video made me finally decide to get my shit together regarding the problem I pretended never existed. I have been diving with out DAN, getting that right now. I didn’t feel like I was in an environment where I could speak up about what was happening to me and I felt as if I would inconvenience everyone else by asking for emergency assistance. I’m speaking up about what happened now and everyone that I dive with would be right by my side if I had spoken up. It’s still extremely embarrassing that as an instructor myself I left my 2 cases untreated both times…. The takeaways from this video are great, and I also hope nobody has to use any of the knowledge in this video. Divers are very system oriented, check-list checkers who are well educated when it comes to diving. (Or at-least, we should strive to be that way and encourage proper education and safe habits) However, Im currently realizing something I wish was talked about more- the emotional aspect of being bent. I was too embarrassed to speak up about being bent and snuck off to suffer in my car alone. I could of died or been seriously injured because of this. So, How can I create an environment where other people would feel comfortable to speak up? The falsely perceived ego damage seems greater than the damage of being bent in the victims mind. What can we do so that every customer, buddy, and fellow diver will speak up? How many DCS cases are going unaddressed, potentially in the very divers around us? Developing a culture of safe diving practice is a lot harder than following checklists or reading up on diving to me. I want to optimize my interactions with others to make diving more safe and enjoyable. This seems to be something I struggle with and could do better on. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Just writing has eased the burden and the guilt and allowed me to move towards improving. To anyone who has read this far: I appreciate you, any ideas and comments will be well received.

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing your story! I’m glad you’re ok, and I’m glad you’ve taken positive action.

@jessicalynn6285 Жыл бұрын

It would need to change with drive instructors universally telling the students that if they have X symptoms, they MUST report it. It may sound too simple, and I have never gone scuba diving before, but I understand the process of learning and following that protocol as if that is what MUST be done. I know the dive instructors must already teach new divers about nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness. But do they hammer home the procedure to follow when getting symptoms in the same manner they ingrain in you what/how to do any other aspect of diving? That might help switch the mentality, where before one felt ashamed that it happened...now one feels they are following procedure as instructed. Create material that is universally used by dive instructors, I'm talking about a specific protocol to follow, say.. as in the manner of following protocol about preparing your tank. Do divers go against what they are taught about that? No, that's what's ingrained in them to do. Add numbers to it and symptoms, and it becomes a procedure that should be followed. If you are to experience X symptoms for X amount of minutes, you are report to X. You asked how it could be changed and that's one thing that I can think of. Everyone prides themself on following the correct protocol which is why they are ashamed to get decompression sickness in the first place, is what I'm understanding. Universally (that's important) set protocol on what to do when experiencing symptoms, a person may then see it as, they would be doing the wrong thing if they did NOT report it. The stigma is switched, and mentally it would feel embarrassing if others found out you didn't follow this procedure. Combine that with teaching that there are instances in which even experienced divers get decompression sickness through no fault of their own, and over time it will change the mentality of the dive community.

@ttb1513 6 ай бұрын

@@jessicalynn6285Agreed: flipping it so it is embarrassing to NOT follow a protocol of reporting is an important shift and emphasis.

@cash2.0 Жыл бұрын

Long time ago I was diving off Catalina Island (California) and my dive buddy refused to surface when our down time was up. We were at 80ft and had been diving all day off a commercial dive boat. I returned to my bunk. 30 minutes later the dive master asked where my dive buddy was and I told him I hadn't seen him. The look on his face said it all. Just then he crawled up the ladder and collapsed on deck. The dive master ran up to him and gave him a choice of a flight to the chamber in Avalon or take him down and re-decompress him. Instead he cussed out the dive master and crawled down to his bunk and curled up. He told me later how painful it was and that he was grateful he wasn't permanently injured.

@ttb1513 6 ай бұрын

Re-decompress? I thought you were not supposed to go back down and ascend more cautiously (which is what I assume re-decompress means). I am no expert, but that’s what they said in my first course.

@johnnyshilling9607 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing! Appreciate your channel!

@the_last_rangefinder_society Жыл бұрын

Another brilliant vid. Thankyou

@maaish17z Жыл бұрын

Thanks for speaking about this!

@HavikenHayes 2 жыл бұрын

Very eye opening. Thank you

@christinasuarez8032 2 жыл бұрын

Great video and thank you for sharing.

@jpbartra 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing Big J!

@markshoub7335 2 жыл бұрын

Such an important video! Thanks 👌

@trijamin 2 жыл бұрын

thanks for sharing the experience.

@angelscheifler6061 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your experience.

@jjp5421 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for posting this, very glad you are ok!

@gavinsmith28 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks SO much for sharing this….

@mjb2048 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing. Happy to hear of your full recovery.

@skipzink1380 2 жыл бұрын

your honesty is refreshing. thank you for sharing

@divemaster 2 жыл бұрын

Really appreciate the honest story and great insights. Thanks!

@divemore941 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your story, glad you’re okay!

@mrrroobbaall Жыл бұрын

Great video, great knowledge thanks for it!

@ramillax5478 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info, happy that you'r fine!!

@stevesscubaschool5330 Жыл бұрын

Have you been checked for a hole in the heart. Very common. Happened to one of our main instructors with about 5000 dives. It was a 110m dive executed perfectly. Went for a bubble check and turned out he had a hole in the heart. 1 in 4 of us have it and easily fixed with a non invasive operation.

@johnlewis6226 2 жыл бұрын

Great video James. Thanks for sharing.

@kennethlove2884 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you’re ok & thanks for sharing your experience.

@danhallorannyc Жыл бұрын

Glad you are ok- thanks for sharing.

@brandonbruns2297 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you are all right and thanks for sharing.

@MonteGould 10 ай бұрын

excellent video, thanks for sharing

@lorenzoromani8475 2 жыл бұрын

thanks for sharing, and great to hear that you are doing fine!

@flechman63 11 ай бұрын

Thank god your ok, Thank you for the great information

@roneyyoneda556 Жыл бұрын

THANK YOU 🙏 🙏🙏🎉 VERY MUCH.

@wolfetwain 2 жыл бұрын

So glad it worked out. Very powerful, useful video. Thanks!

@patrickgelinas5241 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Glad to hear you’re OK

@gibotrebsllarena1644 2 жыл бұрын

thank you for sharing this experience with us, chief! very valuable lessons indeed!

@seandonehoo1683 2 жыл бұрын

Well said thank you for sharing.

@danielheribertozamorarange28 2 жыл бұрын

Muchas gracias por compartir, y que bueno que estas bien James!

@divingadventures121 2 жыл бұрын

Wow, glad you’re ok!

@marianabarboza3726 2 жыл бұрын

Great video!

@dnystrom22 2 жыл бұрын

Dang, glad you’re ok!

@angelkowalski4846 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing, we need more divers like you.

@bcham7373 2 жыл бұрын

Appreciate the learning experience you shared with us. So glad you are doing great.

@bernardhny 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you are ok. Thanks for the talk. Safe diving!

@KazzKarenLewsader 11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your bravery. You're helping so many divers with this video!

@KarenMcMillan 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for this transparency and honesty to educate and keep us safe 🙏🏽

@TheJohnbortle 2 жыл бұрын

Great video man and I'm glad you are doing good.

@martinnielsen4831 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you're Okay! And fully recovered. Thanks for sharing 🤙

@KevinReynolds21 2 жыл бұрын

Great video James!

@MRTNMARTO 2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you are OK James! Thanks for sharing!

@savitiusdive2246 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you’re feeling better James! Thank you for all the info you share, especially your experience here.

@dgebersole 2 жыл бұрын

Great video, James.

@johnrutledge511 2 жыл бұрын

Glad to hear your doing well.

@wallacesify 2 жыл бұрын

Great video James, and thanks for sharing. Glad you are better

@moneymarosx Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video. Always good to have more awareness!

@DiversReady Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Dive safe.

@michaelj.dougherty3382 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing.

@mytouch2085 2 жыл бұрын

Maybe the best video yet, thank you. Eye opening for me, for sure

@jimmykabisch3258 2 жыл бұрын

Oh man, so glad you’re ok. Thanks for sharing Big J.

@avi-shai 2 жыл бұрын

Happy to hear you are well. Thank you for sharing this so openly, directly and clearly. It's always great to hear from first-person experience, even if we all read the books, had the trainings, etc. etc.

@aaronhowell5052 2 жыл бұрын

Congrats on a speedy recovery!! Thank you also for reviewing dive insurance, I’ve been on the fence about it for years but after this video I’m definitely getting it. Keep those videos rolling we sure do enjoy them.

@ExpeditedProductions 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you’re ok and thank your for the lesson!

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you too!

@TheCavecrawler 2 жыл бұрын

Really interesting watch, thank for sharing James 👍🏻

@bevtecdiving6853 2 жыл бұрын

Much respect for telling your storey. Important lessons to be learnt. Hope you feel better!

@mikeramsey9747 2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely awesome story that you have shared. Definitely thank you for sharing this experience.

@terezaemello9335 Жыл бұрын

Loved your video. Watched it many times. Thanks again.

@DiversReady Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Dive safe!

@robertallen8219 2 жыл бұрын

Glad to hear that you are well! Thank you for sharing!!

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Rob!

@Mindysadventures 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing

@DiversReady Жыл бұрын

You are so welcome! Dive safe.

@StrangerInAStrange 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing James. Hate to hear you went through this and happy to hear all is well. Definitely a learning moment for all of us.

@mikeb2847 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing, all good knowledge to help us spot the signs - love the honesty and integrity of your videos

@thomascolla1084 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing !!! Great lesson for us all !!!

@DiversReady Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching us! Dive safe.

@danielschechter8130 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing. Glad you recovered fully.

@DiversReady Жыл бұрын

Thank you too!

@GingerNinja1 11 ай бұрын

Glad all worked out for you & you were able to use this to educate others. 😊

@atlv2 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing in such sincere way. This single lesson worth more than a full training.

@lewistwist Жыл бұрын

Fantastic video, thanks

@DiversReady Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@dalebarnett-diverdowntexas7470 Жыл бұрын

Very humble, not afraid telling the truth and learning from the situation.

@ddacombe4752 2 жыл бұрын

glad you're okay and thanks for sharing this.

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much

@garymcgee289 2 жыл бұрын

James, Thank you a ton for this video. Love following you and expanding my tool kit as a instructor. I am very happy your doing well and bounced back!

@jordialtimiras9828 2 жыл бұрын

A must see video for any diver. Raw, honest and straight to the point.

@lyndondcosta 2 жыл бұрын

❤happy you are back

@toriless 2 жыл бұрын

I amsure he delayed posting this until he had a positive outcome.

@moatazabdelsamad4306 24 күн бұрын

Thank you man for sharing this knowledge with us total respect to you and glad you went through it quickly and harm free

@christinasuarez8032 2 жыл бұрын

So relieved you’re okay!

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Christina!

@PeterCadier Жыл бұрын

Thank you !

@Over_50s_DIY_Vanlife 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for sharing your story. It’s always good to know that the dive community are supportive and I am sure others will learn from your comments.

@sammoyers905 2 жыл бұрын

Thrilled to hear you are okay, and back in the water. Thank you for sharing this important video.

@andrelabuschagne7453 11 күн бұрын

Always the best videos. Thank you for the valuable info and really glad that you are OK.

@amyjwilliams1 2 жыл бұрын

So very glad you are fine and it turned out with best case scenario! As many others have said, a big thank you for sharing your experience to help/teach others. But of course, that’s exactly what I would expect, because teaching is one of the things you do best! Again, so very glad all turned out well!!

@sparkyabq2718 2 жыл бұрын

Amazingly candid video. Thank you for the experience.

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much

@HeatherSZ Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing!

@DiversReady Жыл бұрын

Our pleasure!

@williamsweet2253 2 жыл бұрын

Glad your ok brother, we are all human, thanks for sharing

@alexstewart9747 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing. Let’s keep safe out there scuba family.

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching, Alex!

@Biodoc100 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing, I really appreciate your experience, and am glad that you have made a full recovery!

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Chris!

@francisbevacqua8014 2 жыл бұрын

James, glad your ok!! Thank you for sharing this! We all know the risks of the sport we love, great points especially about ego. Dive safe my friend!

@stephenswanson4645 Жыл бұрын

Very informative.

@leehouston4395 2 жыл бұрын

Superb video

@derekmackey9103 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing James! I appreciate your channel and always learn something new when I watch your videos. Glad that you’re doing well and are back getting your fins wet. All the best!

@rod383 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing story and lessons to learn. Invaluable. Thanks bro 🤙

@DiversReady 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Rod!

@sonnyalbert842 6 ай бұрын

Thank u, big jay, and I am very glad you're well. It was very informative. This was the best ever explained with this. I have subscribed

@ishhanali3851 Жыл бұрын

thank you for the video

@raceno282 Жыл бұрын

Just watched this. Good to know that you ok.

@GunbladeZ 2 жыл бұрын

Hi James. Glad that you are ok and thanks for sharing openly about your experience. Learnt a lot from this. Happy to hear that you are back to diving! Dive safe and have fun.