Posted by Ken Kurtis on September 24, 2002 at 14:09:55:
In Reply to: Re:ESA's posted by Jim Hoffmann on September 24, 2002 at 12:46:22:
To Jim: Personally, I still think ESAs have value as a teaching skill. I'm much rather have them do their first (and hopefully ONLY) ESA in a controlled manner with an instructor. Yes, it has risk but so does the whole sport. I can't see where cutting out a potentially life-saving skill makes them a safer diver.
To Urchindiver2002: There's no evidence yet to CONFIRM (key word) that this was a heart attack. Although that's a candidate (along with embolism), until the autopsy tests are completed and released, to make a statement that no ESA can prevent a heart attack, while a true staetment in and of itself, may have nothing to do with what happened. It's like saying, "Divers prefer calm water over rough water." It's a true statement but has nothing to do with the facts at hand.
To Kendall: While there's no argument from my end that teaching better buddy skills is something our industry needs to work on, it still shouldn't be done at the expense of eliminating teaching what to do when something goes wrong. (And I'm not saying you suggested that, but just wanted to make the point that inclusion of one doesn't have to mean exclusion of the other.)
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA