Emily Brown
A woman from California is still suffering one year on from a 'dream' vacation that turned disastrous after she began to experience strange symptoms that were mistaken for 'dehydration'.
Elizabeth Savage had always dreamed of going to Thailand, so in March 2024 she took herself off to Khao Lak and fulfilled her hopes of scuba diving in the country.
The mom had already taken on dives of up to 82 feet and had seen some 'magnificent' sights, but after her 23rd dive into the ocean she began to experience 'shooting pains' in both her arms and legs.
Recalling the situation, the 57-year-old said: "I had spoken with my dive master about it and I was a little worried. They said I was probably just dehydrated or that I'd pinched a nerve."
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Elizabeth was told to 'take some ibuprofen and go down and rest', and after an hour staff on the boat informed her they were preparing to do their second dive.
"[They] told me I should go because it was going to be a great dive," Elizabeth recalled. "I just figured they knew what they're talking about and I had to trust them, it was a false sense of security. I went for a second dive, which was something I should have never done knowing what I know now."
Unfortunately, hindsight is 20/20 and Elizabeth did decide to go on the second dive, only to experience 'shooting pain from the neck down' when she came back to the surface.
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Elizabeth 'couldn't use [her] arms or legs', and she had to be taken in a dinghy back to the larger boat. There, after she 'pestered' the staff, they gave her 15 minutes of oxygen - but Elizabeth still knew things weren't right.
"They said it was just dehydration so I drank so much water and then I had to go pee and I couldn't empty my bladder," she said. "I didn't really understand what was going on there. I was more worried about why my legs weren't working...
"They should have immediately evacuated me from the boat and taken me to a medical facility, but instead there was a significant delay."
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It was only when Elizabeth returned to shore and was taken to a hospital that she realized she had suffered decompression sickness - also known as the bends - which occurs when gas bubbles form in the bloodstream and tissues due to rapid pressure changes.
Elizabeth had to be placed into a hyperbaric chamber to help her body better adjust to the pressure, and allow the bubbles to dissolve.
"Not getting oxygen and delaying chamber treatment brings long-lasting and irreversible damage but they continued to dismiss me... I'm very lucky that I didn't die with the delay in treatment as the nitrogen bubble was close to going up in my brain," she said.
After 10 rounds of hyperbaric chamber treatment, Elizabeth was medically evacuated back to the US to continue her treatment.
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"In the US they said I did suffer a severe injury to the spinal cord but that there's not much they could do. Having swelling on the nerves like that on the spinal cord is basically cutting off the supply to the nerves which then die," Elizabeth explained.
One year on, the mom still suffers from severe nerve pain which is 'severely impacting' her quality of life.
"I can't sleep at night because of the nerve pain. I still have to self-catheterise frequently because I still can't empty my own bladder," Elizabeth said.
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"None of this stuff my insurance will pay for here in the US. I can't get those treatments nor can I afford those treatments so it's been a financial hit for me."
In a last-ditch effort, Elizabeth is now hoping stem cell treatment will be able to help. Otherwise, she plans to try and 'find acceptance' that she is 'not going to get better'.
To help raise awareness for the bends, Elizabeth has started a Facebook group called Decompression Sickness DCS DCI for people to share their experiences.
She said: "I can't change what happened to me, but if sharing my story helps even one person recognise the signs of decompression sickness early or pushes someone to trust their instincts when something feels wrong, then it's worth it.
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"No dive is worth your life or your future."