On a sun-drenched afternoon in the Bahamas, my friends and I sailed out for what we thought would be a routine spearfishing trip. We anchored off the remote southern tip of Abaco, between Sandy Point and Hole in the Wall, and found ourselves alone in the blue-green expanse. As we freedived beneath its surface, the clear water was alive with groupers, cubera snappers, and reef sharks.
Soon after surfacing from her first dive of the day, Deborah Newman felt a spasm in her upper back followed by a squeezing sensation in her chest, hypersensitive skin, weakness and nausea.
While trying to eat a fish for lunch, a shark accidentally nipped a diver’s hand instead. The injury was bloody but thankfully, DAN provided needed assistance and guidance.
My buddy and I ascended to 20 feet for our safety stop. As soon as we surfaced I thought I saw the boat moving away from me but quickly realized I was disoriented. It felt like vertigo, but I managed to get on board the boat. I removed my gear and was talking to my buddy when I started involuntarily leaning forward until I lost my balance and collapsed face-down on the deck. I felt paralyzed and couldn’t get up.
Learn about the unexpected Solomon Islands evacuation during our diving holiday in paradise and its shocking aftermath.
While on a trip to Tahiti, a 71-year-old experienced diver and competitive rower coughed up foamy blood after making three recreational dives on nitrox. He called DAN for advice and later saw a cardiologist, who diagnosed him with exercise-induced mitral valve prolapse. This diver recommends that divers continue to educate themselves, maintain their DAN membership and insurance coverage, go slowly if they haven’t dived in a while, be prepared and practice for emergencies.
A DAN member and dive instructor’s routine day was faced with setback after setback. She ended up needing a hyperbaric treatment. Read more about how DAN helped this member.
I HAVE BEEN A CERTIFIED DIVER since 1986 and have logged hundreds of recreational and technical dives. Since 2014 I have primarily been doing technical rebreather diving with a close […]
A ruptured appendix ruined what should have been a fantastic whale adventure. Thanks to DAN, the adventurer was able to receive life-saving evacuation and care. Read more about this DAN member’s story.
DAN not only provides emergency resources to divers, but sailors, too. Read one couple’s harrowing story of a concussion at sea and how DAN was able to provide assistance.
