The three of us, my mother, brother and myself, went out on a gorgeous day to do some spearfishing and SCUBA diving. We ventured out 70 miles from our home port. We did a few dives and all went well. During the third dive of the day, my mother had an equipment failure of her SCUBA gear – resulting in an ascent to the surface that was much too fast. As a result, she got the bends.

My mother was visually in distress. I realized that we were 2-3 hours from land and that she was in need of immediate medical attention so I pulled out my PLB and hit the button. We began heading back to the nearest port, which was not our home port. When we got VHF signal and began communicating with US Coast Guard, they had received my distress signal. Coast Guard had all of my credentials and a helicopter was already enroute. Ultimately, my mother was transported to a hospital and subsequently the hyperbaric chamber. This PLB was a lifesaver and I will not venture far offshore without it.