supposed to be ascending, something was very wrong, and
suddenly I knew that I was going to die. My first thought was
that at least it would be quick; rising faster than my bubbles,
the nitrogen and oxygen in my brain would expand drastically,
killing me instantly with an arterial gas embolism.
My entire life didn’t flash before my eyes, and I didn’t have
some spiritual moment of awakening. I merely thought about
the people I loved and that I wish I could see them one more
time. In a snap time returned to normal and I was rushing
upwards, darkness encroaching my vision, and all I managed
to say before the black consumed everything was “tell my
family I love them.”
To awake was infinitely surprising to me, not to mention
extremely disorienting; I came to staring at the white metal
interior of a hyperbaric chamber; I heard the rushing sound of
oxygen pumped in, felt the chill of the tank. As I gathered my
senses and my awareness increased, I tried to rise from the
floor and was gently pushed back down by a nurse’s hands and
gently soothed and told to relax, assured I was alright, and
that I was safe. I fell back into unconsciousness, but this time
with vast depths of relief and joy at having somehow survived.