Page 65 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2019

Brittany Wilem and Fl Aquarium Dive Master and shark.
that their searchlight beam found us and the crew
helped us into the chopper. Though experienced divers, we had become cocky and
our emergency was self inflicted, the result of a series of bad decisions. The same was true for a member of the local group, Deepwater Mafia, who had a similar experience.
Skip Roberts, also an experienced diver, was bounce diving some rigs and wrecks off the Coast of Mississippi while spearfishing when disaster struck. He had just surfaced from a dive when he began to feel weak and disoriented with stroke-like symptoms on his right side. Bob Brown instantly diagnosed the symptoms as a case of the bends. Bob’s first reaction was to put Skip on oxygen to mitigate the problem but discovered that he had left his O2 bottle at the dock. His next move was to immediately get the boat underway and head back to shore.
After failing to raise the Coast Guard by radio, once
they were within cell range they arranged to have the hyperbaric chamber at Gulfport Memorial Hospital on standby. After five hours in the chamber that night and several more follow up chamber visits that week, Skip was free of any further symptoms.
Like me, Skip admits that his problem resulted from a series of mistakes. He skipped a couple of safety stops, dove Nitrox first then air, was not well hydrated or rested prior to diving, and a couple of his ascents were faster than recommended.
In both cases, our over confidence made us sloppy and
it nearly cost us our lives. We were both grateful for a second chance to learn from our mistakes. The sea can be a cruel mistress.
Skip Roberts
Frank Wilem is CEO of The Wilem Group which produces television shows including Find Your Outdoors (formerly Gulf South Outdoors.) Info on air times and channels may be found on their website at www.findyouroutdoors.tv.
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net March 2019 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 65