My 1st Hermit: “SCUBA Safety, Getting in to the Water”

aka: “Fully Submerged; How to Breathe: Safety for Mothers of ODPs”

Photo by Outward Bound Costa Rica on Unsplash

The below piece, my very first stab at a “Hermit Crab Essay” was inspired through my participation in

Writing in the Dark with Jeannine Ouellette

I cranked this out rather quickly (with my nephew at my heels.) lol

It was, just as Jeannine said it could be~surprisingly fun!~the writing of hard things, (within a constraint, or a container) that is. Anyway~ I had read so many genius essays! Not only authors of published pieces; writers Jeannine linked to, but “blow me away writers in WITD.” They are so talented! So creative! So inspiring! So deep, & wise & wonderful. Yes. So. Damn. Talented.

So last week Wednesday, Jeannine introduced us to the Hermit Crab essay, taught us about it with her brilliant words (as she does,) linked all sorts of craft pieces, and hermit examples, and then gave us our assignment. (Please click on WITD above for all her Masters; no, PhD level craft instruction & the most creative, supportive community ever!!)

But Back to the Hermit assignment~I had so many ideas, so many choices, lists and lists of possibilities for my form, what it could take, and my subject matter, 🤔 hmm…lots of fodder there, and well, guess how many of them I’d done? Zero!😂 I’d even eaten up a bunch of time looking for my lists! And then, of course I’d get “Dory’d” (Dory from Nemo) into rabbit holes of delicious distraction. (And then, in my genuine defense, I was also a little pre-occupied with that Grief piece I sent out on Monday, but I digress.)

So here we are, & it’s Wednesday (now Friday😂) again 🙃 & I decided enough with the procrastination paralysis! Inspired by my sense of what, exactly!? Was I getting a grade? Making my living off of this? Trying to impress? “Needing to be perfect?” Ha! I think we’ve well established I’m Never going to be Perfect!😂 And ya know what? What a relief! What freedom! I shall embrace my imperfect self & play in the mud!

Truth is, I’ve always known this is where the fun was~(not in the mud per say, lol ;-) but in play; in being loose; in allowing myself the space to make a mess; to experiment; to try & to try again; in not expecting my first try to be perfect right out of the gate. I’d forgotten~I’m doing it because I love it & I love to do it with & for others who love it too!

✨I’d forgotten. (I do that.) But then, I remembered. (Gratefully, I do that too! :-)

✨We are only here a short while~a very short while (in the grand scheme of this giant rock we’re all floating on~) so like Miss Frizzle from Magic School Bus suggests~

✨I am going to “Take chances, make mistakes, & get messy!”✨

*The Below Essay, though satirical, is Not intended to make light of a life-threatening illness, or those who live with its consequences; on the contrary.

• Much of Terminology from below piece was copied (&/or modified) from: https://instructables.com/Safety-Scuba-Getting-Into-the-Water/

• “Boiling down this pamphlet to one instruction” taken from: https://dtmag.com/thelibrary/waiting-to-exhale-divings-golden-rule-explained/

Photo by NEOM on Unsplash

“Fully Submerged; How to Breathe: Safety for Mothers of ODPs”

Being the mother (M) of an Opioid Dependent Person (ODP) is inherently dangerous, simply due to the role of “mother” (M) & the requisite emotional ties this relationship generally engenders towards her child, the ODP. As we know, injury (& often death, or multiple deaths,) (be they with successful or less successful resuscitation efforts) are a statistically probable event in the life of an ODP, and by extension, the (M)ODP. Though often haphazard with respect to when they happen, injuries and deaths can & do tend to occur often in the lives of ODPs, and by extension, the (M)ODP.

Given these facts, and that (M)ODPs find themselves in a frequent (if not constant state) of  helpless, hopeless terror due to continuous, fearful rumination over the previous, current, and/or likely future death(s) of their ODP; given so many (M)ODPs have found themselves “breath holding”/not exhaling, unable to feel the ground beneath their feet, and in some cases~fully submerged, ‘under water’-this leaflet has been created with the intent to instruct (M)ODP’s how to make use of “self-contained breathing apparatuses” when they find themselves:

• not able to bring air in and fully release it out of their lungs;

• and/or for when they are, in fact, fully submerged ‘under water.’

While proper equipment and safety precautions are advised to minimize injury & prevent death; there is, at the same time, no way to anticipate (with any degree of precision,) the variety of maneuvering (& therefore subsequent need for new equipment & new precautions) that could become necessary (given the probable & frequent chaos an ODP causes).

Given this, & the deleterious effects he/she will have on the (M);

• we are therefore unable to guarantee intended results.

Important terminology

BCD-Buoyancy Control Device (this device is necessary for when the (M)ODP finds herself in deep water, & helps to keep the (M) from going completely under &/or staying there/drowning (d/t the requisite weight bearing & relentless hyper-vigilance required of (M)ODP.) The BCD will keep the (M) afloat when she finds herself past exhaustion, &/or when she is not able to be in, or ‘under water,’ (due to other demands: other P’s; the general demands of life, & in some cases, (more common than the general population is appraised of: stressors ignited by an additional ODP in the life of the (M)ODP.)

Without the BCD, a (M) will drown, as there is no way to stay ‘under water’ indefinitely.

*Regulator-Underwater breathing apparatus- Given (M)ODPs spend Most (although not all) of their time underwater; even years after their P (son or daughter) has ceased to be OD-this apparatus will continue to aid in the imperative endeavor of breathing ‘under water.’

*BOILING this leaflet down to one instruction:

“PUT THE REGULATOR MOUTHPIECE in your mouth & Breathe.

Whatever you do, keep breathing; DO NOT EVER HOLD YOUR BREATH!”

IF you do this ‘under water’ (as likely defaulted to unconsciously on land), you will die.

*Please practice exhaling as if your life depends upon it. Especially under water, (where passing out will not resume air exchange).

RDP-Recreational Dive Planner-While this is meant “to limit the amount of underwater time on consecutive ‘dives,”this writer deems attempts to track this uncontrollable variable: a frivolous, disheartening, & deflating task; one that further has no bearing on the actual time the (M)ODP will end up ‘under water;’ one that is therefore a waste of precious, non-renewable resources.

*For clarity, there is positively no way to predict (with any degree of confidence) when a (M)ODP will take a dive, or find herself fully submerged under water.

*As previously referenced above, chaos is probable & frequent.

Safety Stop- “a stop at a depth of 15 to 20 feet for 3 to 5 minutes to allow for denitrification of the blood.” “This is mandatory at depths greater than 100’ or when approaching a: “no deep compression limit found on the RDP.”

✨Given this author’s previous recommendation on RDP’s, (as a futile waste of resources)-as there are “No Limits” for ODPs; & thus, by extension-

the consequences born to their M’s, (who reflect this free-falling, unpredictable, “boundary-less-ness”) in their very need of this leaflet-

this writer offers up her current recommendations for (M)ODP’s (based not in standards of ‘best-practice,’ but rather in ‘life-practice’) for (M’s) to:

✨Use their intuition.

✨Consult their gut, and NOT deviate from it, regardless of frenzied feedback from their ODP, family members, nor well-intended ‘professionals’ who lack Personal field experience.

✨Remember: ODP’s (while in the throws of being OD,) do Not have a “Safety Stop.”

✨Remember: as an (M) of an ODP, YOU are the one ‘under water.’

*Given the proficiency this sub-set of (M’s) has with disorientation, scrambling to figure things out, & generally running on “crisis mode,” this writer has skipped Steps 1-9, jumping right to:

Step 10: Enter(ing) the Water:

“The “Giant step” is the safest and most often used method of entering the water:”

1. Approach the Dive Platform (if there is no platform: jump, fall, or dive). *This writer recognizes some (M’s) will just ‘find themselves’ in the water, unsure of how they entered. (Proceed to step 2, regardless of how you’ve come to water.)

2. Place the Primary air source in your mouth (ONE MUST DO THIS!) *Some (M’s) become proficient enough in the use of the regulator (underwater breathing apparatus), that they find it useful on land as well.

3. Take two more sips of air (This writer advises 3 sips. (The extra “sip” is to assist (M’s) with letting go of the first 2 “sips”likely still ‘held’ due to muscle memory remnants from land behavior.)

4. Hold all dangling equipment close to your body to avoid ‘snags’ (Note: Not all snags are avoidable, regardless of how close you hold any (thing, or person), (dangling or otherwise.)

5. Hold your regulator in your mouth and your mask on your head.

6. Look towards the Horizon-SO IMPORTANT!!! See Below.✨

7. Take a Giant Step Forward Into the Water- (if a jump fall, or push has occurred; if the (M) finds herself otherwise ‘coming to’ in the water~Please make use of your BCD until at least 50% oriented, & then start over from step 1.)

8. “Give the O.K. Sign or pound your fist twice on your head IF YOU ARE OK and ready to dive.” (*While this writer realizes this is oxymoronic; that (Ms) are never ‘ready,’ (& many not “ok”) this remains a part of standard protocol.

✨“Masks have been known to shatter on direct impact.

✨This is why you should look to the Horizon.”

END

✨Indeed, in this writer’s humble opinion, (Ms) & in fact ODPs & Ps in general, should Always look to the Horizon.

The Horizon is not just a line where the land and sky appear to meet, but according to Oxford, can in fact also refer to: ‘the limit of a person's mental perceptions, experiences, or even their interests.’

As for ‘this writer,’ I am grateful for my interest in writing to help shape my perception of my experiences; to ever expand my Horizon.

Xoxo,

Colleen