Ok, despite the blasphemous humor, I was not actually healing anyone, more saving their lives... and believe me Mr Matt Mendez needs a lot of Rescuing...lol. I mean, he got tired all of a sudden, so I towed him in a little way and reassured him, then he went back out and panicked, so I went out and got him and brought him back in, then he panicked again so I had to go under the surface and come up behind him to settle him down. Then he was tired again but when I got to him he went into a panic and tried to climb on me so again I had to submerge and come up around him to secure him and get his BCD inflated so he could calm down. No sooner was all this done, then he ran out of air at depth, so being the good buddy I was I shared mine and we made the gentle ascent to the surface.
The day didn't stop there, Matt first started over-exerting himself meaning I had to get him to calm down, then he tried to make a rapid, panic ascent to the surface so I had to deflate both our BCDs and arrest his ascent and then control our combined ascent to the surface! A short time later Matt ran out of air again, this time he was in a panic so I had to quickly grab my octo and just about ram it into his mouth, make sure he had it and then control our slow ascent to the surface.
I think all the activity on the day wore on Matt though, it wasn't long before I found him unresponsive on the bottom and after attempting to get his attention I had to grab his BCD and making sure his reg stayed in place and take him to the surface and inflate his BCD so I could assess further. Of course this whole time, Dennis was of no help, he just watched me save Matt over and over again and even (I suspect) led to some of Matts precarious situations...lol. Fortunately I think Matt was paying attention because when Dennis told us there was a "missing diver" (ankle weight), Matt was very useful in counting our kick cycles as I navigated across the bottom in our U shape search pattern. It wasn't long before we recovered our "missing diver," don't worry the ankle weights recovered just fine and will live to dive again! and Matt and I were even so careful with our recovery that after finding the "diver" we decided to have a safety stop even though we hadn't exceeded 20 feet, and played a couple rounds of Rock Paper Scissors before I felt the need to do a couple Mask R&R's (remove and replace) before taking the victim to the surface.
Honestly I don't think it was anybody's day, there were unresponsive divers everywhere, or at least in our group it seemed like everyone but Dennis and Matt (he finally learned) were having issues and were requiring their buddies to flip them over to get their faces out of the water, remove their masks and while administering rescue breathes move them to shore while pulling all theirs and their buddies gear off and passing it to someone else in the group to hold. Even I had a bout of unresponsiveness followed by an immediate recovery in time for me to find my buddy face down and in need of rescue! lol.
As all of you have probably assessed, all of these events were controlled and planned and very well supervised. This was class number one of two for my Rescue Certification with Dennis instructing and Matt surving as DM and buddy to me. No one was ever in any kind of danger, no one really ran out of air or became non-responsive or truly panicked...lol. This was probably one of my most exhausting days in the water but despite the sore muscles and hard work, this was probably one of my favorite courses as I definitely feel more confident in the water. I know I am still a baby as far as divers go but I certainly felt that getting through this first part of the course has raised me up a few bars and combined with my EFR course I am confident that I am becoming a better diver and a better buddy every time I am out.
Next week is Photography, which should be interesting considering I have a fairly solid grasp of photography on the surface, but underwater.... a whole new adventure!
Showing posts with label EFR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EFR. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
The Master Scuba Diver Challenge!!
So Many Things To Think About... So Little Time! For anyone who has ever said this to themselves or out loud... you are one step closer to becoming a Rescue Diver. Thursday night was my Rescue class with none other than Virpi Kangas, for any of you who are not aware of who Virpi is, you need to go back to the beginning of my blog and start over again, she is mentioned in almost every blog and is the reason I made it through my Open Water course and one of the ones who got me started on my road to Master Scuba Diver.... in short, she is a very important diver in my life. Now again, having Virpi as my Rescue instructor has a little irony to it, for any of you who don't know why this is ironic, you probably didn't take my advice from a moment ago to go back and re-read my blog so you could get to know a little more about Virpi. But for those of you who just like the direct route, those of you who watch Daytona and are left wondering why anyone would drive 500 laps around a course only to end up where they started... read this entry Seals to Emergencies and you will understand why it is interesting that Virpi would be teaching me to rescue people. So this was a small class, me Virpi and one student whom I had met when we did our EFR class together back in January. So after short introductions and some chat about diving experience and what we were hoping to achieve through the class we moved on to our chapter reviews... all 5 of them.... plus video.... all leading up to the... dum dum dum...
The evening went by surprisingly quick, moving through so many questions and discussion points and video clips that your head began to spin... and this is where the title comes in. You see, to be an effective rescuer you need to be able to make split second decisions and follow through on them while being alert to everything that is going on around you. When you hear that call for help... you need to start making decisions and answering the internal questions immediately. You need to figure out are they panicked or just tired, what's wrong, where are they, can you reach them, what if you used a branch or an oar, can you wade in and reach them, can you throw them something, do you have to swim to them, can you use a boat, is a boat available, etc.... the list goes on of internal questions to ask yourself so that you can successfully plan and execute a rescue without getting yourself or anyone else in danger. So your brain is full of questions (and hopefully answers) and you haven't even started the rescue yet... this is why it takes split second timing, reactions, and thinking. So once you have decided on your course of action... like Nike said... Just Do It! Put your action plan in place, delegate responsibilities, coordinate responses, assign tasks. Then will all the action over, you need to be able to slow your mind down and rethink back through every step of the process so that you can document and report exactly what happened and only what you witnessed and not what others are telling you happened.
They say that as you move through and complete the Rescue and EFR programs you begin to view yourself and other divers differently. You start to evaluate and look closer at things you never would have thought about before. Is that persons gear on right, does it fit right, has it been altered, is that alteration going to be an issue in an emergency or cause an emergency... It all sits in your head when you look around. But for me it also hit me personally, I started to look at my personal health and well being. I'm not going to be much help if my excessive weight tires me out before I can get to them or get them back. What if my lack of Cardio or poor swimming is the difference between getting to someone in time and not.... So, it is my new goal, not only to become a Master Scuba Diver this year, but to look the part as well. When I enrolled in the Master Scuba Diver challenge I read the requirements, complete 5 specialty certifications, 50 dives and become a certified Emergency First Responder and Rescue Diver. I thought that would be an uphill battle, and on my own it would have been, but with support from home and my dive family I have completed more than the required certifications, more than half the dives, I am EFR certified and, if all goes well, next weekend I will be Rescue Certified as well. With all that considered I am a little less than 25 dives away from certifying as a Master Scuba Diver. But when I think Master Scuba Diver, I am left with the image of Gerard Butler in the shape he was in for 300.
So... all that considered, I am going to create my own "Master Scuba Diver Challenge" and commit to working hard on my own physical fitness so that should I ever be in a situation where I am needed I can perform with maximum efficiency and if I am unable to make a difference then I will know that it was not because of my training or conditioning. So I guess, long and short, I have only just begun my Master Scuba Diver Challenge and only learned that it is me that needs rescuing as much as anyone I will meet in the water. Hopefully before long I will be able to proudly accept my certification as a Master Scuba Diver and will somewhat resemble Mr Gerard Butler... without the chest hair, I can't grow chest hair.. but that's another conversation. This weekend is Boat Diver, should be a whole new adventure, but I'll tell you all about it next week as I prep to write my Rescue exam and complete my dives.
TEST!!!
The evening went by surprisingly quick, moving through so many questions and discussion points and video clips that your head began to spin... and this is where the title comes in. You see, to be an effective rescuer you need to be able to make split second decisions and follow through on them while being alert to everything that is going on around you. When you hear that call for help... you need to start making decisions and answering the internal questions immediately. You need to figure out are they panicked or just tired, what's wrong, where are they, can you reach them, what if you used a branch or an oar, can you wade in and reach them, can you throw them something, do you have to swim to them, can you use a boat, is a boat available, etc.... the list goes on of internal questions to ask yourself so that you can successfully plan and execute a rescue without getting yourself or anyone else in danger. So your brain is full of questions (and hopefully answers) and you haven't even started the rescue yet... this is why it takes split second timing, reactions, and thinking. So once you have decided on your course of action... like Nike said... Just Do It! Put your action plan in place, delegate responsibilities, coordinate responses, assign tasks. Then will all the action over, you need to be able to slow your mind down and rethink back through every step of the process so that you can document and report exactly what happened and only what you witnessed and not what others are telling you happened.
They say that as you move through and complete the Rescue and EFR programs you begin to view yourself and other divers differently. You start to evaluate and look closer at things you never would have thought about before. Is that persons gear on right, does it fit right, has it been altered, is that alteration going to be an issue in an emergency or cause an emergency... It all sits in your head when you look around. But for me it also hit me personally, I started to look at my personal health and well being. I'm not going to be much help if my excessive weight tires me out before I can get to them or get them back. What if my lack of Cardio or poor swimming is the difference between getting to someone in time and not.... So, it is my new goal, not only to become a Master Scuba Diver this year, but to look the part as well. When I enrolled in the Master Scuba Diver challenge I read the requirements, complete 5 specialty certifications, 50 dives and become a certified Emergency First Responder and Rescue Diver. I thought that would be an uphill battle, and on my own it would have been, but with support from home and my dive family I have completed more than the required certifications, more than half the dives, I am EFR certified and, if all goes well, next weekend I will be Rescue Certified as well. With all that considered I am a little less than 25 dives away from certifying as a Master Scuba Diver. But when I think Master Scuba Diver, I am left with the image of Gerard Butler in the shape he was in for 300.
So... all that considered, I am going to create my own "Master Scuba Diver Challenge" and commit to working hard on my own physical fitness so that should I ever be in a situation where I am needed I can perform with maximum efficiency and if I am unable to make a difference then I will know that it was not because of my training or conditioning. So I guess, long and short, I have only just begun my Master Scuba Diver Challenge and only learned that it is me that needs rescuing as much as anyone I will meet in the water. Hopefully before long I will be able to proudly accept my certification as a Master Scuba Diver and will somewhat resemble Mr Gerard Butler... without the chest hair, I can't grow chest hair.. but that's another conversation. This weekend is Boat Diver, should be a whole new adventure, but I'll tell you all about it next week as I prep to write my Rescue exam and complete my dives.
Monday, January 17, 2011
I Can Save Your Life... I Just Don't Want To!
Now as bad as that title sounds, it's absolutely true! I am now officially a certified Emergency First Responder! Yeah me! This means that in case of emergency I can do CPR, perform rescue breaths and even use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). Then once the life is out of danger I can control bleeding, apply splints, address bites, burns and blisters. But, I Just Don't Want To! It's not that I don't want you to be safe, harm free and healthy, it's that I don't want you to hurt yourself in the first place! and if you do insist on hurting yourself, then don't do it around me...lol. You see unlike my other dive related skills, specialties and certifications this is one that I hope to practice and never actually use!
Saturday was kind of an intense day, a full class of 7 students, including Chloe Boone, new shop employee, (she doesn't have a profile yet for me to link you to, but trust me, she works there...lol) all led by our fearless EFR instructor Steve Dunn, who (as you'll see from his profile) has been diving since before the days of BCD's and back-up regulators, etc. As he calls them "the wild west days," when you had a "J" valve and hoped it was done right or you were making an unplanned emergency accent to the surface so you could get air....lol. (If you have questions on "J" valves, send Steve a question, I'm sure he'd be happy to walk you through it, even maybe arrange for you to see one if you sign up for Open Water Certification and he can show you the advancements in equipment.)
So of course, as with all OPD staff, Steve was amazing right out of the gate, making everyone comfortable and walking everyone through the expectations of the day. A quick chance for everyone to share their names and dive experiences and why they are in the EFR class. Amidst the varying responses there was a common underlying theme, we all believe we will be safer divers if we, and those we dive with, are trained to handle emergencies. Of course this is probably a universal understanding that applies to every walk of life, you are inherently safer in the company of trained individuals.
Much of the start of the classroom time was similar to the other classes I have taken with Ocean Pro Divers, in that we started by pulling out our books and reviewing the knowledge review sections of our two manuals. But pretty much everything following the chapter reviews was all unique to the EFR course. Time was spent on the breakdown of equipment, the uses of the equipment and what to do if you have no equipment.
Through it all there was one recurring statement, doing something only partially right, is WAY better than doing nothing at all! Very simple concept, and remains that way after reviewing all the information and details. It has been proven that even if you forget steps, even if you make a couple of mistakes, by doing something you are giving them a chance, by not doing anything you could in fact be sentencing them yourself!
This topic and course are incredibly serious and as such, as some of you have probably noted, I have minimized the humor and reduced the fluff. I cannot express enough how much I believe that everyone, despite what activities you are involved in, should hold a valid first-aid or emergency first responder certification and practice and review regularly. While I will always extol the virtues of Ocean Pro Divers, their courses and especially their instructors, where the topic of life saving comes into play, don't let the fact that they are a dive shop be your excuse for not getting certified. If you don't dive PADI, go to a different shop, if you don't dive and don't want to be taught by divers (you don't know what you're missing) don't let that excuse you from being prepared. Look up Emergency Primary and Secondary Care and find a certified agency who can teach you and get it done!
The life you save, may be your families!
Saturday was kind of an intense day, a full class of 7 students, including Chloe Boone, new shop employee, (she doesn't have a profile yet for me to link you to, but trust me, she works there...lol) all led by our fearless EFR instructor Steve Dunn, who (as you'll see from his profile) has been diving since before the days of BCD's and back-up regulators, etc. As he calls them "the wild west days," when you had a "J" valve and hoped it was done right or you were making an unplanned emergency accent to the surface so you could get air....lol. (If you have questions on "J" valves, send Steve a question, I'm sure he'd be happy to walk you through it, even maybe arrange for you to see one if you sign up for Open Water Certification and he can show you the advancements in equipment.)
So of course, as with all OPD staff, Steve was amazing right out of the gate, making everyone comfortable and walking everyone through the expectations of the day. A quick chance for everyone to share their names and dive experiences and why they are in the EFR class. Amidst the varying responses there was a common underlying theme, we all believe we will be safer divers if we, and those we dive with, are trained to handle emergencies. Of course this is probably a universal understanding that applies to every walk of life, you are inherently safer in the company of trained individuals.
Much of the start of the classroom time was similar to the other classes I have taken with Ocean Pro Divers, in that we started by pulling out our books and reviewing the knowledge review sections of our two manuals. But pretty much everything following the chapter reviews was all unique to the EFR course. Time was spent on the breakdown of equipment, the uses of the equipment and what to do if you have no equipment.
Through it all there was one recurring statement, doing something only partially right, is WAY better than doing nothing at all! Very simple concept, and remains that way after reviewing all the information and details. It has been proven that even if you forget steps, even if you make a couple of mistakes, by doing something you are giving them a chance, by not doing anything you could in fact be sentencing them yourself!
This topic and course are incredibly serious and as such, as some of you have probably noted, I have minimized the humor and reduced the fluff. I cannot express enough how much I believe that everyone, despite what activities you are involved in, should hold a valid first-aid or emergency first responder certification and practice and review regularly. While I will always extol the virtues of Ocean Pro Divers, their courses and especially their instructors, where the topic of life saving comes into play, don't let the fact that they are a dive shop be your excuse for not getting certified. If you don't dive PADI, go to a different shop, if you don't dive and don't want to be taught by divers (you don't know what you're missing) don't let that excuse you from being prepared. Look up Emergency Primary and Secondary Care and find a certified agency who can teach you and get it done!
The life you save, may be your families!
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