The Accident - October 11, 2015

A photo of the last dive at ship rock before my accident with my lovely friend and coworker, Katie O.

Dancing on the dive deck during fall training week
photo cred: Katie O

The dive was planned for around 2PM that afternoon. We headed down to the dive deck to set up our gear as Morgan prepared the boat. We would be taking a 17 ft. Whaler to the dive site. Another perk of the job; using boats during our off-time for fun activities like searching for whales and dolphins, going to town, or diving. The boat ride to Little Farns from camp was about 20 minutes and we were all excited to get out of the bay for an off-site dive. We set the anchor and donned our gear. I remember that it was a beautiful day, but the current was decently strong when I entered the water. I began to drift immediately as I strapped on my BC (buoyancy compensator) and weight belt in the water. Being the least experienced in the group, I was also the slowest to gear-up, but eventually I joined to group at the bow of our boat and grabbed on to the anchor line to begin our descent. The plan was to be at 100ft for 22 minutes with a planned stop at 15ft for 3 minutes as a safety precaution. We began to descend down the anchor line towards the pinnacle. The water of Catalina is so clear that we had great visibility for the entirety of the dive. The pinnacle was beautiful; covered with Garibaldi, blue-banded gobies, half-moons, and even a sea cucumber! I had never seen one on scuba and was very excited, making big gestures underwater to communicate the moment with Morgan. We explored the pinnacle reaching a depth of 104ft at the deepest. During the dive I experienced nitrogen narcosis for the first time. Nitrogen Narcosis is caused by breathing in compressed gases like oxygen and nitrogen at depth. Essentially you feel a sense of euphoria and mild drunkenness depending on your depth. I wasn't too "narced", but enough to notice. This happens to all divers at deeper depths, though severity can differ. Morgan signaled to me that it was time to ascend, so we swam back to the others at the anchor line and began to kick towards the surface at a safe rate (no faster than your bubbles). The others had dive watches that informed them of any dangers while diving such as staying at depth too long, ascending too quickly, or not stopping for a required safety stop.

I was below the others as we began to ascend, meaning if they were surfacing at a safe rate, I was even better off. We held on to the anchor line, kicking against the current. I remember being super excited about the success of the dive. I had done it, my first deep dive after my certification. I was quite proud. We stopped at 18ft for our safety stop. After about a minute I began to have flashes in my vision. At first I assumed whatever was happening would pass. I didn't think to inform Morgan as I was trying so hard to focus on something...anything. Morgan flashed the okay symbol. At this time my body had begun to tingle and my breathing was quite labored. I was able to focus enough to shake my head back in forth to indicate that I was not at all okay. I couldn't form the appropriate hand signals to communicate my issues as my body had seized up. I wasn't able to move anything anymore. It felt as though I was breathing through a straw and I began to panic. My body was frozen and I was no longer able to hold on to the anchor line. I drifted from the group, the current pulling me away without my being able to do anything about it. I was turned away from the group, staring out into a blue vastness that would have taken me had I been diving alone as some divers choose to do. I was so close to the surface, but couldn't have helped myself in any way. I would have sunk to the bottom, pulled along by the current, and eventually drowned. Divers: ALWAYS DIVE WITH A BUDDY. I could never, EVER, stress that enough after what I've been through.

Morgan swam immediately over to me. He grabbed my shoulder straps and gestured to keep looking at him and keep breathing and began to kick us to the surface. I could do nothing but stare at him and force what little breath I could into my lungs. I was helpless and afraid, but I never once thought that I was going to die. I was quite calm for what was occurring. Honestly, there wasn't any room in my brain for anything but trying to breath. As we reached the surface Morgan began to strip me of my gear. I couldn't feel anything at this time, but the water coming into my mouth with each wave as I weekly coughed it out between ragged breaths. The current was pushing us into the bow of the boat as Morgan continued working, asking me over and over if I was okay. I couldn't talk. Every time I attempted to tell him that I was alive all that came out was distressed moaning through my partially closed throat. My tongue was blocking my air way. Within a minute or so at the surface I lost my sight. I was blind, unable to get a full breath in, and unable to speak. I was awake as the others surfaced. Morgan began to order the others to get into the boat. He muscled me from the water into our whaler. At this point I was only able to focus on their voices as I tried to control my breathing. After I was in the boat, I tried to hold on to Morgan's voice as he spoke to the boat of snorkelers, asking them to grab our gear and radio for help as our radio had died. Most of the next 15 minutes I don't remember, as I passed out in the boat. Morgan filled me in during the time that I was unresponsive. Another boat holding a man named Jason came to our help and he hopped in to help administer abdominal thrusts as my rescuers were concerned that I had breathed in too much water. When the radio yielded no response, my coworkers navigated towards Avalon to get help from harbor safety. There were a lot of procedures that had to be followed from this point on. Statements were taken as the paramedics transferred me to their boat and attempted to intubate me with no success as I had clenched my jaw shut. They attached me to oxygen instead and began monitoring my vitals. Eventually my breathing began to relax and I became stable.

Morgan and myself in Boothbay Harbor, ME

I woke up to Katie stroking my forehead, repeating over and over that everything was going to be okay. I listened to her as I began to regain awareness of my situation and tried to figure out where I was. I was still unable to see, but was immensely happy to be awake and able to breath again. I listened for a while before I attempted to speak. I remember Katie telling the paramedics that Morgan was my boyfriend and so they sent him over to sit with me instead. Even in my weakened state, I was stuck on the word boyfriend. Morgan wasn't my boyfriend....but why shouldn't he be? We liked each other, got along well, had practically been dating anyways, so why not? Morgan came to my side and with my slurred speech I asked him to be my boyfriend. I think the words were something like "I guess you can be my boyfriend now..." to which he responded with laughter which I took as agreement (though I would make sure of that later). At least I could still make him laugh even though I may have scared him to death. It was all quite romantic, if I do say so myself. The theme of the day seemed to be "go big or go home". Considering I would not be going home for the foreseeable future, I obviously had to go big and so began our relationship. Silver linings, am I right? I mean...he is pretty cute.

Morning Of October 11, 2015

Dressed for our "old people" squid dissection
Left to Right: Myself, Morgan, and Emily

Working in a place that specializes in marine science draws in like-minded employees. My coworkers at CIMI are wonderful, outdoorsy, and passionate individuals like myself with very similar interests. Our working community is beyond fun as we are paid to be teachers as well as entertainers. As instructors we are encouraged to be different and absurd as we put on costumes for certain programs, play silly games and tell the ancient legends of CIMI instructors past. It also helps that most of my coworkers are in their 20s, making off-time interesting and enjoyable. Some of the perks of working at CIMI are driving boats, beach-bumming during off time, surfing, camping, pro-deals, and of course....excellent scuba diving. CIMI employees are not required to be scuba certified, but given the adventurous types of people that work on Santa Catalina Island, most of my coworkers enjoy diving in their free time. Why wouldn't we take advantage of the clear waters of Catalina? There is something incredibly mysterious about the underwater world and it just can't be thoroughly explored on anything but scuba.

I was off from work on the day of my accident and had been invited by Morgan, my friend, coworker, and future boyfriend, to go on a dive at little Farnsworth near the East end of the island. The dive site was a pinnacle at about 80 ft from the surface. Over the summer I had received my advanced diving certification that allowed me to dive past the basic certification depths of 60ft. I was able to go to 130ft now, allowing me to explore one of Morgan's favorite dive-sites. This would be my first deep dive since my certification and I was quite excited to use my skills, though mildly nervous to be held accountable for myself at a deeper depth than I had ever been. Even with my nerves, I was confident in the dive as I had a very competent dive-buddy and had decent experience myself. Morgan, a scuba instructor during the summer months, has been diving for many years as he was raised by a family of divers in Southern California. His experience and respect for dive-safety was comforting and I was excited to dive with him, though a little intimidated by his professional demeanor. I hoped to impress him with my scuba skills later that day.

Two others would be joining us on our dive, both very experienced. Katie M. is a certified dive master and had worked during the summer months as such for the Seacamp Dive Program. Shelby is a passionate and travelled diver, quite competent with her skills and passionate about the activity. Along with our boat of divers, there would be a boat of snorkelers  filled with three of my coworkers (Kenny, Smo, and Jaclyn)who would also be enjoying the site that afternoon. As you may have figured...later on that day I would be in the best of hands. If it weren't for the collaboration of all my coworkers and friends, I would not be here writing this post. It is a humbling experience to think back to that day and the normal morning before the dive; my last bit of time (for a while) in Toyon Bay with legs that worked. Knowing what would follow that afternoon, would I decide to go again? Absolutely. My accident would have happened at some point in my life and I'm so glad that it did while I was in a situation that left me as lucky as I was; surrounded by level-headed and caring people very able to respond to such an emergency.

Before T-4

Housemates and friends after SUNY-ESF graduation

Before my accident, I was a recent graduate and had landed my dream job as a marine science instructor on Santa Catalina Island. I crossed the stage at graduation in Syracuse, hoping that I hadn't flunked any of my last classes, and looked forward to what awaited me on the other side. I had graduated. It was a battle, but I had done it and was even secured an incredible position on a beautiful island on the other side of the country! All in all, my parents were very proud and relieved that I may make something of myself yet. I was sad to leave SUNY-ESF as my many experiences there had led me to my career choice; outdoor education. The real world was different from the safe walls of parental dependence, but I wasn't completely thrust into the adult-abyss just yet because my position at the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI) came with room and board covered! I was happy to avoid some responsibilities for a little while longer. 

I spent a few days back home in Maine before flying off to Los Angeles and the beginning of my life. It was time for my adventures to begin and I was obsessed with the idea that the world was at my disposal. I could do whatever I wanted, go where I wanted, be who I wanted. I was ready for what challenges awaited me and I planned to earn and own my position in the CIMI community.

Working for CIMI was all that I had imagined. School groups attend our programs for 3-5 day periods and learn about different topics dealing with ocean science. As instructors, we would take groups of students snorkeling, hiking, and kayaking to allow hands-on experience and challenging activities that would (hopefully) provide students with the skills and information to better care for our Earth's ocean. Not only was I living in vacationland, but I was also lucky enough to have a purpose to be passionate about. Playing with children while also playing with ocean critter...what more could a girl ask for?

Shark Harbor, Little Harbor and the Whale's Tail

Training Week with the new Summer employees, AKA 'New Fish'

Far left; view of long point, far right; view of Toyon Bay and CIMI