El fuerte oleaje crea problemas a un buceador diab\u00e9tico que casi se ahoga al golpearse la cabeza con una escalera.
(2012,EE.UU.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took part in a wreck-diving excursion on a charter boat in the Atlantic. Waves were 5-6 feet, and the captain said there was a half-knot current. Several divers, including myself, were seasick and decided not to dive. Some divers entered the water but cut their dives short. Several other overweight divers, however, completed their dives. I felt if they could, I could do it, too. Someone advised that I\u2019d feel better as soon as I was in the water, so I decided to try it. I used a drysuit and double 108s with wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I entered the water last, just as the boat was calling off a second dive. I was advised to \u201cget below the current immediately,\u201d so I had no air in the drysuit or wing. The current was strong enough that divers went in holding a rope, and the first mate pulled them to the hang bar. I believe the current was closer to 3 or 4 knots at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tras una entrada a paso de gigante, me arrastraron hasta la barra de suspensi\u00f3n, pero no pude nadar contra la corriente y me di cuenta de que ten\u00eda problemas. Mi inflador (en el ala) se me hab\u00eda ido por la espalda y no pod\u00eda alcanzarlo. No pens\u00e9 en utilizar el inflador del traje seco. Pataleaba hacia la superficie y le dec\u00eda al compa\u00f1ero que necesitaba ayuda. \u00c9l quer\u00eda llevarme de vuelta a la barra colgante. Finalmente, el capit\u00e1n del barco me oy\u00f3 y entr\u00f3 en el agua para ayudarme a llegar a la escalera. No pude hacerle entender que necesitaba mi inflador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The seas seemed huge; I was seeing the starboard side prop from the port side of the boat. I have no recollection of the journey to the ladder, but I must have missed it because I was on the current rope, on my back and \u201czooming\u201d to the end of it. Something was tugging my regulator, and I was inhaling a mist of water and air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tras un tremendo esfuerzo del operador y de mi compa\u00f1ero de inmersi\u00f3n, consegu\u00ed la escalera. Sin embargo, el barco cogi\u00f3 una gran ola, me puso de lado y la escalera me golpe\u00f3 en la sien. Vi que mi visi\u00f3n se estrechaba hasta convertirse en un t\u00fanel te\u00f1ido de amarillo; s\u00f3lo recuerdo la p\u00e9rdida de la l\u00ednea de corriente, el hundimiento, un fuerte empuj\u00f3n con los pies y la recuperaci\u00f3n de la l\u00ednea. Recuerdo haber o\u00eddo gritos para que me pusieran cuerdas, segu\u00ed luchando y por fin estaba en la plataforma trasera. Estaba agotado y no pod\u00eda moverme para subir al barco. De alguna manera, otros me subieron al barco, me quitaron el traje seco y me dieron ox\u00edgeno inmediatamente y durante todo el viaje de vuelta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Coast Guard craft intercepted us on the way and put medics on board; we continued to the USCG station to a waiting ambulance. At the hospital I was diagnosed as a saltwater \u201cpartial\u201d drowning and given continuous oxygen therapy. Later, I was transferred to another hospital, where treatment continued; medical personnel noted I had numbers indicating a kidney issue. They adjusted my existing medications \u2014 I am an insulin-dependent diabetic taking Humulin R500 as well as Naproxin for joint pain. I was released the next day, went home to my own doctor and was immediately admitted to the local hospital, where they continued treatment for drowning, then renal failure and finally atrial fibrillation. I was in the hospital for about 10 days and continued to convalesce for nearly a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This incident was my fault entirely, as I made poor decisions at each point. I was seasick, dehydrated, overheated, diving with the wrong gear, determined to dive simply to avoid wasting the money, ignoring the experience of other divers who chose not to dive, accepting the notion that I\u2019d feel better in the water and, finally, diving with no buoyancy. I have recovered completely, have made some dives since then and plan to continue diving, using this experience as a guide for future decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bad judgments, both on the diver\u2019s side and the dive operator\u2019s side, contributed to this accident. If the sea was so heavy and the current so strong, the operator should have raised a yellow flag, which would warn divers to abstain from diving if they are not healthy and fit for the occasion (e.g., overweight divers, older divers, diabetics, unfit divers and beginners). Unfortunately, there is no established system in diving similar to the one used on public beaches or on the ski slopes that could help divers make proper decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
En este caso, el buceador era consciente de todos los problemas y aun as\u00ed utiliz\u00f3 su mal juicio. Se trata de un buceador de 67 a\u00f1os, con 18 a\u00f1os de experiencia en el buceo y totalmente capaz de tomar decisiones responsables. El mareo severo puede haber afectado a su juicio. Esta es otra raz\u00f3n para que los operadores de buceo ayuden a los buceadores a tomar sus decisiones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were no details in the report about medical fitness to dive for this diver. Developing renal (kidney) failure may indicate that he already had end-organ damage, which comes with diabetes, including heart diseases. However, when explicitly asked, he said he had a cardiac physical including stress tests and an echocardiogram about six months prior to the incident and was cleared to dive. His blood pressure was 115\/75 without medication. Regardless of medical fitness, it is not very likely that a 5\u20199\u2033 tall diver weighing 275 pounds is physically fit for the challenges of the wreck diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Petar Denoble, Doctor en Medicina, Doctor en Ciencias.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
El fuerte oleaje crea problemas a un buceador diab\u00e9tico que casi se ahoga al golpearse la cabeza con una escalera.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","dan_diving_incident_keyword":[],"class_list":["post-1586","dan_diving_incidents","type-dan_diving_incidents","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n