From: dave@hpdstma.ptp.hp.com (Dave Waller)
Subject: Re: Flower Gardens Tragedy
Keywords: death
Organization: Hewlett Packard
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 18:44:27 GMT

In article <19961@fritz.filenet.com>, scotth@felix.filenet.com (Scott Hopson) writes:
|> In article <10616@sun13.scri.fsu.edu> mayne@sun16.scri.fsu.edu (Bill Mayne) writes:
|> >Dave Waller comments:
|> >
|> >>Well, unless there is something else called "Caisson's disease", this is
|> >>simply a case of death from decompression sickness, a.k.a. the bends. 
|> >
|> >It looks to me like rumor and unreliable reporting, possibly by a
|> >newspaper writer who knew nothing about scuba diving. According to
|> >other reports I've read the Flower Gardens are deeper than 60 feet.
|> >The victim might have been ascending or descending, though. Having
|> >a DCS hit as the initial problem at 60 feet is virtually impossible
|> >unless ascending from much greater depths. A fatal DCS hit is unlikely
|> >anyway. Decompression sickness is the first medical problem which might
|> >occur to a non-diver. 
|> 
|> Bill is desperately trying again to minimize the seriousness of DCS.

Bill is not desperately trying any such thing. Indeed, Bill seems quite
knowlegable in this area, based on his past participation in this group.

|> Face the facts, DCS can and has often caused divers to DIE.

Yes, let's face the facts: DCS does *NOT* "often" cause divers to die. The
vast majority of the time victims are treated in recompression chambers and
fully recover. For the facts, give DAN a call -- they compile statistics on
this very issue. I would kindly suggest you examine the facts before
stating them.

|> When you
|> get DCS, bubbles form in your tissues and in the blood stream. If a bubble
|> were to reach the brain before dissolving back into the fluid you get
|> an embolism. This causes strokes and many other problems.

Except in severe cases, bubbles in the bloodstream are, for the most part,
filtered out by the lung tissue and do not present a significant threat of
embolus. However, in SEVERE cases of type II DCS, there is a risk of an
embolus forming. The language you use here to describe that risk
is blown way out of proportion.

|> DCS is not
|> something to be treated lightly. When you discard DCS as a small problem
|> with little or no threat to life you show your ignorance.

Careful, here, your own ignorance is showing. Face the true facts: DCS is
not a major cause of death among recreational divers. The leading cause of
death for recreational divers is drowning. DCS simply is not a significant
mortal threat, given that effective treatment is available.

|> Most recreational
|> divers do not know how dangerous DCS can really be and people like Bill
|> don't help.

Bill, who is a rational, learned individual helps alot. It is naive divers
who publicly promote erroneous alarmist views such as those in your article
that are not helping the situation at all.

|> When you say that being hit by DCS at 60 feet is virtually
|> imposible you really show your ignorance. What if the guy made multiply
|> dives, what if he was on his way up after being down too deep for too 
|> long. You say that a "fatal DCS hit is unlikely anyway", reguardless of

That's "regardless", BTW

|> what you claim to have read, I know profession divers, doctors, and
|> research scientists who would claim otherwise.

Can you provide us with names, please? I am familiar with quite a few myself,
who do not support your alarmist views. These individuals have published
medical texts, and expert diving texts. I'm happy to list names if you
like.

Please don't misunderstand me. I do not mean to imply that DCS is not a
serious matter. Indeed, left untreated, it can easily result in permanent
injury, and in more severe type II cases, *can* result in death. However,
the fact of the matter is that death due to DCS is NOT something that
occurs often. I'll have to check with DAN to be sure, but I believe there
are frequently years in which there are no deaths due to DCS reported.

|> I'll take their word
|> for it and always be prepared. Like you were taught in dive class,
|> "Plan your Dive and Dive your Plan".

Excellent advice.

|> If you are aware of the dangers and avoid them through proper training 
|> and preparation diving can be an enjoyable sport. If you disreguard what
|> experienced people tell you and think that you have nothing to worry about 
|> then you WILL DIE.

Again, an overinflated statement that is simply not true. While I certainly
would not advocate that someone treat their diving practice in such a sloppy
manner as you imply, it is simply untrue that irresponsible practices
will certainly result in death. Rather, the PROBABILITY of a fatal accident
increases; however, there are plenty of irresponsible stupid divers out there
that blissfully go on their way without a serious incident. I would call
them lucky. The existence of such divers, alive and well, directly refutes
your strong statement that such practices WILL cause death.

|> Experince has taught me not to minimize any danger that nature puts
|> before me. If you are unprepared, anything that can go wrong, will
|> go wrong.

Again excellent advice, up to the point where you AGAIN (ugh!) make the
exaggerated statement that, if anything can go wrong, it will. I hope you
can understand how this is simply untrue, and is a gross exaggeration.

I have been diving for over seven years now, and have completed in excess of
700 dives, under a wide variety of conditions. I believe Bill Mayne's
experience exceeds mine by quite a margin. In any case, during that time I
feel I have seen just about every kind of diver that spans the spectrum,
and unfortunately many of them are bunched up down around the "moron" end
of the spectrum (increasingly over the last four years or so, but I
digress). In that time I have witnessed dozens of "accidents", some of them
serious, many of them minor. I have participated in rescues for some of
these. In all that time, I have seen a small handful of cases where DCS
was suspected, but have never been present when DCS was a confirmed
diagnosis, nor has anyone I'm aware of ever died from DCS. I believe
my experience is somewhat typical for most active divers (perhaps all?)
out there.

This is not to say it doesnt happen; rather, it happens rarely.

|> "There are old divers and there are bold divers. 
|> But there are no old bold divers."

There certainly are! They are not good role models, but they exist
nonetheless.

-- 
Dave Waller
YMCA Instructor
Newsgroups: rec.scuba