Tom -

I'm not sure how to read your response: Is it that divers like myself who 
lack your knowledge of pathology shouldn't ask questions about rebreather 
deaths or that you don't want to share your knowledge to educate the list 
unless you can also put someone down in the process?

I'm not a member of any party to this debate, and I posed my question so 
that I and other similarly situated newsgroup readers would have enough 
information to understand what's going on and not "jump to conclusions, 
read through rose colored glasses, and then argue it (or instead argue 
something else) on the net."

Frankly, I'm not sure what newsgroup you've been reading, but the writers 
of the vast majority of messages that I've seen here on Dr. Kendall's 
death have deplored the tragedy in a manner that shows respect and 
restraint. The most you can say is that not everyone is willing to accept 
the Sheriff's initial determination of "natural causes" until all the 
facts -- including the path report and rebreather computer logs -- are 
in.  That's hardly inappropriate.

Best -

Bill Wolk


On2/23/99 10:24 AM, Thomas A. Easop wrote:

>Actually this case, tragic as it is,  represents a unique opportunity to
>illustrate the tendencies of all parties in this debate to jump to
>conclusions, read through rose colored glasses, and then argue it (or
>instead argue something else) on the net.
>
>The unit does have the ability to log the aspects of the dive and gas vital
>to the discussion of what lead to the death of Dr. Kendal, more objectively
>than any buddy diver could (although it lacked the ability to rescue him as
>a well trained buddy in that situation should have.)
>
>Plus the ME has much more sophisticated tests at his disposal than mere
>physical signs such as cyanosis to determine what the actual 'pathway of
>death' was. There is a common 'pathway of death' that all humans follow
>while dying, with some variances mainly due to the order in which the steps
>happen or if some are missed. Bill Mee is correct in that SOME modes of
>death from 'natural causes' are identical to the mode of death from a
>hypoxic breathing mix in a rebreather loop. But many are not identical, and
>they leave many clues that an ME could and should detect, such as blood pH,
>cardiac enzymes, etc.
>
>Together with the units log and a detailed autopsy report not only will the
>precise demise of Dr. Kendal be known, it will serve to illustrate the
>behavior of the WKPP, USDCT, and all the supporters and detractors of each
>camp.
>
>Both sets of information will serve as learning tools for future list use.
>
--
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