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NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE Scuba trip to Belize nearly fatal for Rogue River man Rogue River man nearly drowned during scuba trip to Belize Comment By John Darling for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 24, 2016 at 5:47 PM By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 24, 2016 at 5:47 PM » Social News When you’re 90 feet deep in the ocean, things can go wrong very quickly, as Rogue River veterinarian Bob Bradford learned while diving with his wife, Jan, a few weeks ago on a barrier reef off Belize. Bradford, 77, made several key mistakes — delay in starting up to the surface before he got below 700 pounds of air pressure, not staying with his diving partner when he reached the 15-foot depth and ran out of air, then shooting up to the choppy surface and, realizing he was in trouble, not dumping his weights so he could float. His wife quickly joined him and found him not breathing. A nearby dive boat saw trouble and pulled him aboard. Paramedics Dave and Becky Cook, leaders of Vagabond Ventures of Phoenix, quickly surfaced and found Bradford blue and unconscious, not breathing and with no heartbeat. As the boat sped to a shoreside clinic, the Cooks took turns doing CPR, restoring Bradford’s vital signs after five to eight minutes of unconsciousness. He was flown by private jet to a larger hospital and brought back to health over several days. “It’s basically a safe sport, but if you start forgetting a few details, it can get out of hand rapidly,” says Bradford. “I got distracted looking at the fish. I looked at my computer, and there was only 500 pounds (of air pressure in the tanks).” “He didn’t signal to me at 700 pounds, so I assumed he had plenty of air,” says Jan. Divers have to do a “safety stop” at 15 feet to “breathe off” nitrogen that gets compressed in the blood at depth or they can get the bends. Bradford could have stayed at that depth and shared Jan’s air, but he didn’t, which was a danger sign. “He was totally lifeless and blue when I got to him,” she says. “He was trying to breathe through his snorkel, but it was under water. When they took him to a larger hospital, an hour went by before I knew if he was alive. ... I’m a little turned off about diving right now. I just don’t ever want to go through that again.” The couple dive in rivers here, but the ocean is cold and hard to dive in without a boat, they note, so, without enough practice, you can get “a little rusty," says Bradford. "You need to train like it’s military training, so you know exactly what to do without thinking,” he says. They plan to take more classes from the Cooks, including rescue diving, says Jan, adding, “We used too much air because we got to looking at fish. It’s amazing what you see down there. You are weightless, so you’re not limited by arthritis or anything. You swim with the turtles and nurse sharks. It’s beautiful.” “It’s almost like flying,” says Bradford, a former pilot. David Cook, leader of the venture and a teacher with Divers Alert Network, says revival of a drowned person after six to eight minutes is the outside limit noted by the American Heart Association. In this case, the situation was compounded by the remote location and minimal medical care. Cook says he saw the problem while diving below Bradford. “It didn’t look right,” Cook says. “I saw him surface and came up less than a minute after he did. I helped get his equipment off. He was unconscious, not breathing, blue. When we got him to shore, we put him on oxygen on high flow. He started breathing.” Bradford says he wants to get right back into the sport. “He loves scuba diving,” Cook notes. John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Email him at [email protected]. By John Darling for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 24, 2016 at 5:47 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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