Part Four: Getting Bent with Jill Heinerth
In the final instalment of Dive In, Suunto Ambassador Jill Heinerth discusses her experience of getting ’hit’ with Decompression Sickness (DCS) twenty years ago, what she has since learned, and how she has adapted her dives to suit her.
Jill was thousands of dives into her career and thought it would never happen to her. DCS, or the bends, is a sports injury and there is a spectrum of how the bubbles can affect your body from a skin rash to paralysis. In many cases the resulting tissue damage will remain, perhaps increasing the risk of another hit.
Making a few minor changes to her diving since her experience, watch to see how Jill optimizes her off gassing phase on a dive and what surprises she has found by doing that little bit extra. No mathematical algorithm can guarantee your absolute safety, and it is unfair to blame a device if you do get bent.
Use your diving computer to the fullest and be armed with the knowledge of exactly how it works.