Welcome to the weekend- here’s a quick update to catch up with me on the road.
I just arrived out on Catalina Island for the Emergency Dive Accident Management (EDAM) course at the Wrigley Institute/USC Hyperbaric Medical Center. The EDAM course is a chance for me to learn about how diving accidents happen and how to help divers after they occur. Bubbles in the body are diver enemy #1 and increased pressure of a hyperbaric chamber is the way to prevent bubbles from doing further damage. USC Hyperbaric Medical Center is a volunteer-run hyperbaric chamber used only to treat scuba diving injuries. It’s the only chamber in the region open and staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The team who keep this place running are amazingly dedicated. I know I’ll finish this week with a much better understanding of decompression tables and the physiology and pathology of decompression sickness/ air embolism injuries. My huge thanks go to Chamber Manager Karl Huggins, whose generous support allowed me to join this class.
Catalina Island is a beautiful setting to spend a week. It’s a desert island that sits about 20 miles offshore from Los Angeles and everywhere I’ve seen is completely stunning! After spending a couple months in warm tropical water, the deep dark blue of a temperate coastline is a gorgeous contrast. The Wrigley Institute and research station sit in a small bay just east of Two Harbors. There are deer and fox running around the research station and I’m keeping my eyes peeled for bison. There is a herd of about 200 that live on the interior of the island but occasionally they break through the fence to scratch themselves on the fire hydrants.
The US Antarctic Hyperbaric Team is also on the island over the weekend. Training with them today I had my first chance to ride in the chamber. I was the Doctor locking in to treat a patient already compressed in the inner-lock. It’s an awesome experience to get pressed down from the surface to depth in only a few minutes. Later this week I’ll have the chance to dive to 165 feet; stay tuned for hilarious stories of my incapacitation!
Just like when diving underwater you need to clear your ears early and often. Tenders watch you through the window knowing to stop the descent if you ever drop the ok signal.
“Doctor Megan” treating the imaginary patient at depth.
The EDAM course officially starts this afternoon and I’ll be hitting the books to get up to speed. I love learning more about safety and am looking forward to sharing the whole adventure with you. Keep up to date with the latest by subscribing above or like Megan Cook-Ocean Ambassador on Facebook.
