Page 40 - AlertDiver_Winter2013

O n April 17, 2011, my boyfriend, Ben, and I took
a trip to Key West to dive the USNS General
Hoyt S. Vandenberg. We did two dives, both
to about 90 feet, and we got some really cool
photos of the radar dishes on the wreck’s top deck.
After the dives I noticed a large purple honeycomb-
looking rash on Ben’s chest and stomach. I was concerned
and asked him about it, but he brushed it off, saying it
was from his new weight belt. While driving back to
our campsite, I pushed him to call the DAN® Medical
Information Line to get an expert’s opinion, but he
continued to dismiss it as nothing serious.
Upon arrival at our campsite, Ben admitted that while he
was driving he had been seeing stars, and he couldn’t read
our campsite parking permit or the signs for the various
islands we crossed on our drive back from Key West. I
called the dive shop to ask for a recommendation. Neither
of us had exceeded our computer’s limits, and we had dived
the same dive profile, which included an extra half-depth
safety stop. The shop recommended that if I was concerned
about decompression sickness (DCS) we should go to the
emergency room.
Next I called the DAN 24-Hour Emergency Hotline. DAN
medical information specialist Dan Nord answered my call,
and I was able to email him a photo of the rash. He reiterated
the advice to go to the closest medical center.
Getting Treated
We arrived at the hospital, and after a lot of fussing about,
consultation with DAN doctors, neurological exams and
fluid administration (he received a total of 9 liters over
the course of the stay), Ben was finally put on oxygen
and advised to go to the nearest hyperbaric chamber for
treatment. The treatment consisted of three hours spent
compressed to 60 feet and another three hours at 30 feet. All
the staff were very friendly and attentive, but I was perplexed
by the initial delay in administering oxygen. If Ben had
surfaced from a dive with these symptoms, I know the first
priority would have been to put him on oxygen. That’s what
DAN teaches in its oxygen-provider course. At the hospital,
though, he received fluids and a neurological exam before
the oxygen was administered.
Throughout all this, I was in contact with both DAN
America, of which I am a member, and DAN Europe in
Italy, of which Ben is a member. There were a host of
administrative complications at the medical center. The
time difference to Italy combined with the receptionist
believing Ben’s DAN Europe card was an unacceptable
RESEARCH, EDUCATION & MEDICINE // D A N WA S T H E R E F O R M E
38 | WINTER 2013
B y N i c o l e B a k e r
Trust Your Instincts DON KINCAID