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After diving off the coast of Western Australia last month Mitchell Goodwin started to feel nauseous.
Then he lost his hearing, sight and blacked out on the back of his boat.
The experienced 36-year-diver was hunting for crayfish off the coast of Mandurah and had descended to a depth of 42 metres.
He was suffering from a condition well-known to divers; decompression sickness.
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Speaking to 9News Mr Goodwin said he spent too long underwater and ascended to the surface too fast.
"I spent too long on the bottom. I was supposed to be down there for 18 minutes, instead spent 27," he said.
"I was meant to take two decompression stops. I only took one so I pushed the limit and got caught for it and paid the price.
"I felt nauseous, felt something coming on couldn't stand up myself so I sat down, lost my hearing.
"I lost my sight and then blacked out."
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Decompression sickness — also known as the bends — can occur when divers descend beyond a depth of 10 metres and then rise to the surface too quickly without taking necessary decompression stops; a pause during the diver's ascent.
This can cause nitrogen bubbles to form within the body's tissues and blood stream. Symptoms include pain in the muscles and joints, cramp, numbness, nausea, paralysis — and in extreme cases, can cause death.
Mr Goodwin was spared this fate due to the quick actions of police.
Officers found him unconscious on the back of his boat, after his mother and partner made an emergency call for help.
Senior Constable Ian Bembridge told 9News he didn't know what to expect from the call out.
"The only information we had was there was a diver suffering from the bends," he said.
"We just didn't know what to expect, it was very sketchy.
"We just knew that time was of the essence, it was critical."
Mr Goodwin was stabilised, given oxygen support and taken to hospital after finally arriving on shore.
Mr Goodwin temporarily lost his hearing, sight and was paralysed but has since made a full recovery.
He spent a week at the Fiona Stanley Hospital and a further two weeks in a decompression chamber.
Doctors say if it wasn't for the quick police response he could've died.
"I was told by the hospital that what saved my life was the oxygen and what helped me all the way through," Mr Goodwin said.
"So I take my hat off to them."
Source: 9News
