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“Y
our research saves lives,
and your outreach
efforts inform an entire
community about safe
diving practices,” I recently
wrote to DAN® research
director Neal Pollock, Ph.D. I penned the letter after a
long day in Newfoundland, Canada, that began with a
stunning dive on a World War II shipwreck and ended
with a friend taking an ambulance ride to the Health
Sciences Center in St. John’s.
DAN had been there for me before in the most classic
sense. More than 15 years ago I was hit with a case of
decompression illness (DCI) while exploring new cave
passages in Mexico at a now famous site called The
Pit. With assistance from DAN, I received a necessary
hyperbaric chamber treatment and all the requisite
follow-up care. But this time it was DAN’s research and
educational outreach that made the difference for my
diving group. Both Pollock and hyperbaric medicine
researcher Stefanie Martina had been filling my inbox
with informative medical articles since we worked
together on an expedition a few months earlier. In
Pollock’s words, “Data we gather on these projects is
important, but our opportunity for outreach is priceless.”
When my diving friend motioned for help beside our
boat in Conception Bay, Newfoundland, the entire crew
and our group of seasoned divers leapt into action. He
was gasping for breath with a rattling gurgle, pulling at
his neck seal, desperately trying to say, “I can’t breathe!”
Within minutes, we had the victim, a very experienced
technical diver, seated on deck and were removing his
drysuit and dive gear. He coughed bloody froth into a
bucket while we provided oxygen and supportive care.
Some might have guessed this was an embolism
or “chokes,” and others might have passed it off as
an event of uncharacteristic panic, but knowing that
this accomplished veteran had managed to suffer
through 17 agonizing minutes of decompression and
ascend at a normal rate led me to conclude that he
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FALL 2016
RESEARCH, EDUCATION & MEDICINE
DAN WAS THERE FOR ME
A hyperbaric doctor examines tech
diver Jeff Shirk using 3-D ultrasound.
Earlier in the day Shirk experienced
a serious case of acute immersion
pulmonary edema during a dive
Research and Outreach
By Jill Heinerth
JILL HEINERTH