Diver diver are you okay?
On Monday (the 7th) the real work began, I had to do an emergency first response refresher as my certification had lapsed. The day was spent, watching a DVD, reading theory and applying it in practice scenarios. It was a lot of CPR and the like. The class room has aircon but that didn't prevent me from becoming a sweaty mess doing CPR for at least 15 minutes and then repeatedly in different situations ( like finding Angus - my instructor - on the floor with his legs up on a fallen over table and covered in chairs with the word blood written on his leg and arm) the bruises on my knees stayed for weeks. Always turn exams over...I did the first page no problem only to be told I'd answered 11 questions wrong...highly embarrassing for a trained nurse, turned out it was 1 wrong and 10 I missed on the back which I then completed. I then started the theory for the rescue diver course.
Tuesday was full of fun diving.
Wednesday I started rescue, the morning was spent doing theory and discussing it with my instructor (Xesus). The afternoon was in the water, fully kitted up off shore learning different towing techniques, and what to do in different situations i.e panicked diver, tired diver etc. It was tiring but easy compared to the following day. The next day was spent rescuing my victim and instructor as they both liked to panic at the same time so it was a case or swimming back and forth between them, trying to avoid getting jumped on (splashing them in the face helps with that). My instructor also decided it would be a good idea to repeatedly knock Karolina (my victim, a dive master trainee, AKA fancy snowflake) off the small boat into the water. It wasn't all surface work though (thank you), I also had to practice calming a panicked diver underwater; what to do if someone is out of air and trying to get your main regulator; bringing a non-responsive diver to the surface and then towing them, while ditching equipment and providing rescue breaths.
Before we headed out for the afternoon boat session I learnt some of the different techniques for a shore exit. No. 1, grab them under the arms and drag them out backwards - I found this one the most difficult as trying to walk up a slight incline with the sand falling away under your feet while trying to hold on to someone while going backwards just caused me to almost fall over a lot. No. 2, grab the persons arms and twist them to turn them and get them onto your back at the same time so they are facing forwards with their arms over your shoulders. Couldn't quite figure out the motion at first but once I got it, it was fairly straightforward, although you need to hitch them up a lot so you don't do your back in. It is probably the most difficult one to put them down gently from. No. 3, grab them under the arms with one arm draped around your neck and grab their legs with your other arm (so they are horizontal around your back. I found this the easiest and quickest. I had to practice them each a few times and then do a shore exit in 20 seconds...I made it in 21 seconds on my 3rd attempt (of being timed, did it more than thrice altogether).
The afternoon was spent doing the same things as in the morning with the addition of getting an unresponsive diver back into the boat, a difficult feat as I can't even get myself back into the small boats, luckily there was the lovely Edgar there to literally lend a hand and pull me up before helping with my victims... I was then done for the day. Everything ached, especially my ankles, I was covered in bruises and cuts and sported the lovely rescue tan - my hands were darker than anywhere else, luckily my bright red face settled down with the aid of lots of moisturiser.
After a restless night full of dreams about rescuing people (wish that counted towards the course) I started the final rescue day with the exam. We then practiced search and rescue techniques on the beach and just off shore. I also had to get an unresponsive Karolina up the ladder onto the big boat, she didn't quite manage to keep a straight face though and she and X burst out laughing as I went for it a bit too vigorously and grabbed her ass a little too hard while trying to get her onto my leg to hike her up to the boat. This was followed by going out on a big boat to slightly deeper waters. I was on high alert for the entire trip as I didn't trust either X or Karolina. My suspicions were right, as soon as we stopped X distracted me while Karolina decided to jump in the water to start to drown. After pulling her back to the boat with a rope we kitted up and went for a dive, which would of been pretty good as visability was great and the current wasn't very strong, if I hadn't been watching the two of them like a hawk. X got cramp which I thought was just part of the session but turned out to be real, he also got pretty cold (as he wasn't in a wetsuit) and kept curling up so I thought he was going to do something more. Karolina then became unresponsive so I needed to bring her the the surface. Then X told us
about his missing friend Finn who we had to go look for, luckily my search pattern was in the right direction and I soon spotted his bright yellowness (he's an actual fin). I proceeded to rescue Karolina in his place and was surprised to find a ketchup packet in her mouth (she had failed to bite through it to simulate blood). Lots of shouting to the boat ensued, followed by commencing rescue breaths, ditching equipment all the while towing her to the boat and counting out loud so X knew what I was doing. I couldn't get my BCD off, more yells for help, mostly to get my BCD off and to help get her up the ladder, once up I connected the oxygen (it wasn't on) and commenced CPR.
I was then finished...I refused to take my wetsuit off though as I didn't trust them not to pull something on the way back...luckily they didn't.
It was probably some of the most stressful and physically exhausting days of my life but I'm now proud to say I'm a certified rescue diver...and it was pretty fun looking back on it.
Wednesday I started rescue, the morning was spent doing theory and discussing it with my instructor (Xesus). The afternoon was in the water, fully kitted up off shore learning different towing techniques, and what to do in different situations i.e panicked diver, tired diver etc. It was tiring but easy compared to the following day. The next day was spent rescuing my victim and instructor as they both liked to panic at the same time so it was a case or swimming back and forth between them, trying to avoid getting jumped on (splashing them in the face helps with that). My instructor also decided it would be a good idea to repeatedly knock Karolina (my victim, a dive master trainee, AKA fancy snowflake) off the small boat into the water. It wasn't all surface work though (thank you), I also had to practice calming a panicked diver underwater; what to do if someone is out of air and trying to get your main regulator; bringing a non-responsive diver to the surface and then towing them, while ditching equipment and providing rescue breaths.
Before we headed out for the afternoon boat session I learnt some of the different techniques for a shore exit. No. 1, grab them under the arms and drag them out backwards - I found this one the most difficult as trying to walk up a slight incline with the sand falling away under your feet while trying to hold on to someone while going backwards just caused me to almost fall over a lot. No. 2, grab the persons arms and twist them to turn them and get them onto your back at the same time so they are facing forwards with their arms over your shoulders. Couldn't quite figure out the motion at first but once I got it, it was fairly straightforward, although you need to hitch them up a lot so you don't do your back in. It is probably the most difficult one to put them down gently from. No. 3, grab them under the arms with one arm draped around your neck and grab their legs with your other arm (so they are horizontal around your back. I found this the easiest and quickest. I had to practice them each a few times and then do a shore exit in 20 seconds...I made it in 21 seconds on my 3rd attempt (of being timed, did it more than thrice altogether).
The afternoon was spent doing the same things as in the morning with the addition of getting an unresponsive diver back into the boat, a difficult feat as I can't even get myself back into the small boats, luckily there was the lovely Edgar there to literally lend a hand and pull me up before helping with my victims... I was then done for the day. Everything ached, especially my ankles, I was covered in bruises and cuts and sported the lovely rescue tan - my hands were darker than anywhere else, luckily my bright red face settled down with the aid of lots of moisturiser.
After a restless night full of dreams about rescuing people (wish that counted towards the course) I started the final rescue day with the exam. We then practiced search and rescue techniques on the beach and just off shore. I also had to get an unresponsive Karolina up the ladder onto the big boat, she didn't quite manage to keep a straight face though and she and X burst out laughing as I went for it a bit too vigorously and grabbed her ass a little too hard while trying to get her onto my leg to hike her up to the boat. This was followed by going out on a big boat to slightly deeper waters. I was on high alert for the entire trip as I didn't trust either X or Karolina. My suspicions were right, as soon as we stopped X distracted me while Karolina decided to jump in the water to start to drown. After pulling her back to the boat with a rope we kitted up and went for a dive, which would of been pretty good as visability was great and the current wasn't very strong, if I hadn't been watching the two of them like a hawk. X got cramp which I thought was just part of the session but turned out to be real, he also got pretty cold (as he wasn't in a wetsuit) and kept curling up so I thought he was going to do something more. Karolina then became unresponsive so I needed to bring her the the surface. Then X told us
about his missing friend Finn who we had to go look for, luckily my search pattern was in the right direction and I soon spotted his bright yellowness (he's an actual fin). I proceeded to rescue Karolina in his place and was surprised to find a ketchup packet in her mouth (she had failed to bite through it to simulate blood). Lots of shouting to the boat ensued, followed by commencing rescue breaths, ditching equipment all the while towing her to the boat and counting out loud so X knew what I was doing. I couldn't get my BCD off, more yells for help, mostly to get my BCD off and to help get her up the ladder, once up I connected the oxygen (it wasn't on) and commenced CPR.
I was then finished...I refused to take my wetsuit off though as I didn't trust them not to pull something on the way back...luckily they didn't.
It was probably some of the most stressful and physically exhausting days of my life but I'm now proud to say I'm a certified rescue diver...and it was pretty fun looking back on it.
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