Wed 12.8.
AI#7 and XR#3
Fiat BR-20
XR Dive, Deco planned, 15Liter Tank Air, stage tank 7 liters with Nitrox EAN36 (I did not analyze it...), for switch at 28meters.
I intend to document this with a video from my GoPro8, no artificial light. Everything fine, reached 40 meters after 3 minutes. Dipped below for 6 min, then ascend, switch tanks at 28m. At 24m the computer displays a deepstop for 2min, which I do. At 12m the computer displays a second deepstop for 2min, which I do. The rest of the group is already at 7-8m or even safetystop. I ascend much slower than the rest of us. I follow up to 5m, do the safetystop for 4min, everybody else is out of the water already. When the safetystop is done, I ascend. As I am surfacing, the computer demands another stop at 3m. When I take the Nitrox36 reg out of my mouth I feel strange immediately. Fatigue, aching legs and arms, like after 24 hours of exercise.
- - Later the dive profile shows that after finishing the safetystop the computer demanded another mandatory safetystop. Didn’t see that somehow? Also the profile shows the computer demanded two deepstops of 2minutes, at 24m and at 12m, which I did…- -
20 minutes navigation to get back to the dive center. On the boat I can hardly get me together to remove my weights and set up my equipment post-dive. Legs start to feel as if I had been sitting on them too long, ants. At the pier I cannot walk off the boat, ants in my legs, cannot control my movements.
Still on the pier, we administer O2 100% for 15 minutes and 0,5 L drinking water, After that, I can control my legs again. Vince helps me walk back to the DC, there we administer another 20 min of O2 100%, plus 1,5 L water. Then I feel good again.
Alessandro says Today and tomorrow no diving, next up is Ratteghe on Friday afernoon. I stow away my stuff and drive home on the motorbike, eat panino with bressaola, creamcheese. No symptoms, just a bit tired.
I rest on my bed, but cannot sleep. Drink a lot of water.
Later the shit hits the fan.
In the evening, I try to walk over the camping ground, I walk like a drunk, can hardly control my moves.
Back home I lie on my bed again, and around 10pm, before I want to sleep, I go to the toilet.
I am not able to piss. I feel pressure on my bladder, but I cannot piss. I try to ignore the urge to pee for the sake of sleeping. Every hour I have to get up and press at least some drops out to relieve the pain.
At 4am I decide to take a warm shower while sitting, this might help with pissing. I sit there under the running shower, imagining waterfalls and heavy rain, but I can pee just a little more than the times before.
I notice that the water feels hot on my shoulders, but only lukewarm on my legs and belly. The frontier is somewhere below my ribs, near the diaphragma. After 45 minutes in the shower I cancel this experiment and try to find sleep. My belly blows up from all the pee in my bladder. Every hour I try to relieve by pressing out some drops.
Thu 13.8.
In the Morning Chiara asks via WhatsApp how I feel. When I tell her she suggests to contact my insurance. I do, and after some zigzag I put everything in their hands. I call Ale asking which is the next hyperbaric chamber, and he tells me the next chambers are in Nice, France, and in Genova I give the Genova info to the insurance.
They call back, they made contact with the chamber in Genova. Tell me to take a taxi. I pack some things, computer, phone, dive computer, t-shirt and a boxer short. Take all keys and money with me. Mili calls a taxi for me. 1:45 minutes drive, I sort of sleep for half an hour. Driver doesn’t find the right entrance, we go to the official post adress of this huge policlinic, I need to piss super urgent, find a toilet, press out some drops to relieve the pain. Then the doorman calls an ambulance, which brings me to Pronto Soccorso.
I show the email from my insurance Aquamed, translated to Italian, saying I have go to the chamber immediately, and Dr. Amelia is waiting for me.
