You may have noticed I have not been quite as active as normal.....I have been a bit distracted.
On July 14th my wife and I left for a vacation to Saba to go sight seeing and scuba diving. We had been planning this trip for more than 10 years, and it started out really nice. The island is near St. Martin, and it is a volcanic island that is about 5 square miles - there are no sandy beaches as the volcanic island has very steep shorelines, and the only flat area has bowling ball sized rocks.....it is a bit weird as the waves don't make the normal surf sounds - instead you hear the water moving rocks around and it sounds like somebody is banging coconut shells together.
The first day diving went like normal, we did two dives and my wife has been diving since the 70's and logged her 200th dive (I am at 126). On the second day the first dive was to be around 80 feet, and most of the other divers went to the bottom of the reef - Deb and I stayed a bit above the others and our dive computers showed we had a maximum depth of 55 feet. We were breathing Nitrox with 32% oxygen as it allows for safer dving, and we stayed less than an hour. When the other divers were coming up they stopped at 15 feet to do their safety stop, and we stayed at 30 feet while they were above us doing their safety stop. When they went to get on the boat we moved up to 15 feet and did our safety stop at 15 feet for 3 minutes. Our dive computers showed we had very little Nitrogen as a result of our shallow dive, double safety stop and Nitrox - we were safe to surface.
As Deb got on the boat she complained of a back ache. The Boat Captain and Dive Guide asked her questions and could not believe that the Bends were not likely, as our dive put us far below the maximum safe limits for Nitrogen loading. Deb was not sure if she pulled a muscle, pinched a nerve, etc. She did not do the second dive and she went to the local Dr. around noon and was examined - he also believed it was not a decompression/Nitrogen issue. (Please don't turn this into an analysis of why this happened......she did everything by the book and is an experienced and careful diver. Over 60 years old, female and other physical factors somehow resulted in a nitrogen bubble issue in her spine that just should not have happened).
By 6 PM that night Deb had a horrible time walking, and her legs had gone numb. The Dr. came and examined her, and they called an ambulance and took her to the decompression chamber and put her in for a 6 hour session. The next morning she was back in for another 5 hours, then 4 hours again in the afternoon. The Dr. determined it was too much for the small local team to address - so Deb was taken by medical helicopter to St. Martin, then by Learjet to Miami. She could not fly on a commercial flight as she had to be kept at an elevation less than 1,000 msl.....the Learjet was the only way to get that done. (Luckily she had purchased the Divers Alert Network (DAN) dive insurance, and it pays up to $250,000 for evacuation expenses).
Deb has been in the Mercy Hospital in Miami since July 18, and she has been getting 1-2 decompression treatments every day. She is slowly getting better, and we are hoping for a full recovery with little remaining symptoms. They began to step up her therapy on Friday, and she is able to do some walking with a walker - yesterday they were able to get her to take some very slow steps without the walker.....they had to catch her a few times as she stumbled. She also took a few steps on stairs.
I stayed with her in Miami for the first couple of days until my vacation time was over - there was not a lot of reason to stay as she was in the decompression chamber nearly the entire time I was there (except for the hours she was sleeping). Her estimated release is going to be on August 8th - but we are not yet certain what that means. She may be released on an outpatient basis and need to come back for therapy - she will have to get a local hotel to stay while the therapy continues.
Please pray for her full recovery. She is in good spirits and determined to beat this......the Dr. said her positive attitude has allowed her to make good progress.
Thanks........Dave
PS: We will be going back to the island once my wife has recovered enough for her to travel. The folks on the island are very loving and took wonderful care of Deb - she wants to go back and show them they helped her to recover, and they don't need to worry about her anymore! The nurses in the small hospital were truly doing their best to help her, and they were extremely loving and caring. Saba is like a step back in time - the folks don't lock their doors, there is no theft or robberies....and folks genuinely care for each other!
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