Issue 10 Dive Matters' Chamber Dive from the Archives of the Tanked Up Magazine

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19 April 2024

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ISSUE 10 ARCHIVE - DIVE MATTERS' CHAMBER DIVE

I had spent an arduous day in my bathroom, which is currently under renovation and had been trying to describe to a confused Mark the Tiler the intrepid adventure I was destined to embark on that evening. I had a sense of excitement, akin to the night before Christmas, about this experience but I was trying to keep my usual calm, cool exterior for my other half. Shortly after arriving in London and after arming myself with a chicken sandwich and a packet of Percy Pigs from M&S, I was ready to deal with whatever the hyperbaric chamber had to throw at me. After a short tube journey we arrived at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in St John's Wood where the Australian/South African team welcomed us in. After some form filling, we were escorted into a room where we could change into the required theatre blues. We next found ourselves in the chamber room for a pre-dive briefing. I was next to the water fountain and started dispensing more cup-fulls to my fellow divers as the importance of hydration was made clear. I was the first inside the chamber when the time came, all ready to get going. We started our descent down to fifty metres when I noticed that I had become hot and was sweating profusely. When we reached our limit, the Aussie guy (Bill) announced the facts in an Alvin and the Chipmunks-style squeak and there was an eruption of highpitched laughter from everyone. I felt as if I was inebriated. I was then told to complete a task where I had to circle as many letter Ls as I could on a sheet of printed words. It took all the concentration I had to focus on putting the biro on the page, let alone doing what I had been asked. The highlight of the whole dive was my fiancé saying in a helium-fuelled squeal, "Isn't physics amazing?" at which point I dissolved into giggles and was mesmerised by the floating cups being affected by the density of the air. A bottom time of seven minutes complete, we began our ascent. The cooler air was a relief for me. The supernatural haze created was another strange phenomenon. Once we reached nineteen metres we were given 100% oxygen to breathe. The Aussie guide, an expert in the field of decompression illness, gave us some thought-provoking facts about the experience and what our bodies had just been through. I was delighted to hear that I may have sat in the same seat as one of my Arsenal heroes who have used the facility together with other sporting legends to help speed the recovery of injury. At the virtual surface we emerged from the chamber, our dive logs stamped and told not to exert ourselves too much in the gym the next day and we dispersed to return home. It was thoroughly fascinating. I would suggest it is an essential for any diver to experience how their body reacts to that pressure in a safe environment so they have that extra knowledge if it happens in the deep. - Mike Godden
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