I started doing scuba diving in the early '80s and I loved it, I loved the sport and I kept on doing it. I took my full license in 1985, and you know it was a very passionate sport to me. And it's very sociable as well because you go out in groups, meet new people every time you go out in a boat, and it's just beautiful.
I stopped doing it since I had the heart attack till 1995. 1995 I tried it again and I managed successfully and that was a great achievement, it was you know something else, just like I had my life back again!
And went again three times to different diving spots met new people, had a great time, you know it's just a great thing. And you go down, and everyone comes out and speaks about the experience and what did you see and you know what did you find and where did you go, blah, blah.
Last time we, last time I did it was in my, last year in our honeymoon, when we went to our honeymoon. We went to an Island called Phuket in Thailand and despite my wife's concern, I said, "No I'm fine and I'm fit enough to do it and let's do it." She refused to do it and I went out with a bunch of people. She was with us on the boat, we dived twice for about two hours and it was fantastic. This year my wife was 5 months' pregnant, two months ago, I said, "Listen we will be grounded after the birth of our baby, actually in two months time we will be grounded, so let's do it!" We went to the Red Sea, a very nice resort in Egypt called Sharamsheik in the Red Sea, and I went on my scuba diving experience. Went down with an Italian diver you have to go down in couples at least. So we went down and at around 18 metres depth, which was normal to me before, I felt very uncomfortable - very, very uncomfortable - and I started ascending, started going up slowly.
[laughs] I don't know what happened, at the 12 metres level on the way up, at 12 metres level, from the 18 to the 12 metre level suddenly I ran out of air completely although my tank was full but I just couldn't breathe any more, just literally couldn't breathe!
So pushed myself up and tried to just catching my breath and I thought there's something with my regulator. I grabbed my spare one and I tried to catch a breath from it and I just couldn't. I tapped on the other diver, the Italian diver, and I, as she turned I just grabbed her spare regulator and I tried it and there was literally nothing, just nothing!
And the options I had, was either die here, or you've got 10% chance to make it to the surface, because you know with sudden ascent the lungs can expand, and blow. The ears can expand and blow, and the chance is 10% to make it to the surface, this is my chance, I don't want to die here, let me try and make it to the surface.
And without, I mean without a second thought, I just did a sudden ascent - I think I fainted in the last metre or two before getting to the surface. Made it to the surface, coughed a lot and then managed to catch a breath, slowly, very slowly.
She made, the Italian diver made it to the surface, 6 or 7 minutes later because she had to stand at 5 metre level every, every 5 metres so she had to stand at the 5 metre for three minutes and then two more minutes on the two or three metres level before coming up to the surface.
So she came out, she tried to shout out at the boat and they couldn't hear, they were about 100 meters away. She inflated my jacket which I didn't even think about it, I was just you know trying to catch my breath.
So I stayed floating on the surface without any effort and then she pulled me to the boat. On the boat they, I lay down and they gave me some oxygen, after that I was fine and two hours later I was okay and I wanted to dive again, [laughs] but of course my wife made a scene out of it! And I think that, probably that will be my last diving experience, unfortunately. |
