DAN'S Project Dive Exploration and Aging Divers Study

	Bev Sawchuk, SOS Ottawa

by Bev Sawchuk

When I took the PADI Rescue Diver  course in Ottawa in May of 2000, I learned about the importance of DAN,  "Diver's Alert Network" - the organization  that would give expert diving medical  advice to anyone who had to take care of me if I ended up the  victim of an underwater diving emergency.

I took out a membership in DAN, liking the idea that I could be evacuated in a medical emergency, (diving or non-diving) as long as I was at least 50 miles from home. DAN would provide  name and location of the nearest Recompression Chamber  in an emergency. I could call them about diving re health, doctor, safety, insurance and other matters.  They had good products like first aid kits.  

With my membership I got a great magazine, "Alert Diver" which keeps me up-to-date for diving:  articles on such topics as CO contamination, ear squeeze, safety stops, safe and UNsafe diving practices, and contrasting opinions on these.  The magazine welcomes feedback from readers.

I decided to "give back" to DAN.  I became part of their PDE - Product Dive Exploration program. As a "Field Research Coordinator"  my dive profiles from my trip to Cuba this winter were recorded for DAN, courtesy of a Suunto Solution Alpha computer with which they provided me. The instructions to me were to attach the Suunto  to my equipment  with the provided tie wraps, and to do the dives using my own computer for planning and dive log information.  The information from the Sunto would be downloaded in North Carolina at the DAN facilities.

Things  I have to do are  to fill out a paper log (just one letter for each category of a few things that I probably would put in my personal dive log anyway), and a "48-hour report"  re flying after diving, and filling out on Dan forms some personal background information like level of dive training, and state of health.

I am not part of the regular PDE program, but the "Aging Diver Study"  Oh, horrors.  I've graduated to "aging diver" (Just means you are 50 or more).

Both these programs will yield statistics from which DAN can make recommendations on safe diving practices, including areas where they have not had a lot of information before e.g. how dive style and outcome are affected by age and medical conditions associated with it. 

The department  at DAN is interested in the influence of the factor that I mentioned to them re Candian diving : the cold water.

I want to assist them in studying specific things concerning fitness and diving for women (e.g. osteoporosis,  osteonecrosis)   They need more women over 50 with numbers of deep dives in order to form a significant pool of women for their studies.   Come on  "Diving Divas"  in SOS,  let's help them out.

"Gentlemen of Diving Experience,"  (one has already offered his help),  jump in. They can learn from you.

Seriously, I would welcome the help of any and all of you divers,  OF ANY AGE, who would like to contribute to increased diver safety  by either downloading from certain computers you already own, or borrowing one from DAN to do this.