My Rebreather Accident: Spinal DCS and the Long Recovery

My rebreather dive accident on the USS Algol: a failed lid, a caustic cocktail, spinal DCS and the long recovery. This is everything behind One Forgotten Step. I almost died on a rebreather. The footage shows exactly what I missed. One Forgotten Step told you what happened. This is everything behind it: the rushed pressure test, the warped lid, the warning I never saw, the hyperbaric chamber, and the eight months of recovery that followed. Most dive accidents begin long before the dive. This is mine. ⚠ This video contains real footage of a diving accident and its aftermath. CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold Open 00:32 The rEvo: Life Support or Death Machine 00:59 Hybrid CCR: Orifice, Solenoid and Setpoint 01:22 Airflow and the Breathing Loop 01:50 Scrubbers and Caustic Water 02:25 Sensors and Electronics 02:58 The Pressure Test 03:37 Water in the Lid 04:03 The Warped Lid 04:44 Diving in Low Visibility 05:27 The 360 Camera View 06:54 The Cell That Dropped 07:33 Gurgling in the Loop 08:08 Emergency Ascent 08:57 Spinal DCS 09:33 Back on the Boat 10:45 Hospital and Hyperbaric Treatment 13:35 Eight Months of Recovery 14:51 Getting Back in the Water 16:25 The Lift Bag 17:08 Processing the Trauma 18:26 Final Reflection 20:04 Credits ABOUT THIS VIDEO The dive was on the USS Algol on August 24, 2025. This is a full breakdown of a scuba diving accident: a rebreather lid failure, caustic water in the loop, an emergency ascent, spinal decompression sickness (DCS), hyperbaric treatment, and the road back to diving. It looks at what went wrong, the warning signs that were missed, and the lessons learned from a technical dive accident. Some of this footage comes from One Forgotten Step, and some of it has never been seen before. The computer overlay in the dive footage updates every 10 seconds, not in real time. This is a personal account, not medical advice or diver training. WRECKS FEATURED USS Algol The Stolt SPECIAL THANKS The crew of the Independence II for getting us out there and for everything they did that day. The U.S. Coast Guard for the rescue. The UPenn hyperbaric team for the treatments and for the assessments before, during and after every session. Thanks also to the neurology team who caught the inflammation on the MRI. Frank Bevacqua, for all the help and support. Stephen Nizamoff, wherever you are. THE REBREATHER I dive the rEvo, a hybrid closed circuit rebreather (CCR). It uses an orifice for constant oxygen flow and a solenoid that fires when oxygen drops below the setpoint. My setpoint is 1.1. Any rebreather can go from life support machine to death machine if it isn't set up or maintained properly. GEAR USED Cameras: Insta360 Ace Pro 2, Insta360 X5, iPhone 17 Drysuits: DUI Regulators: Apeks Masks: SEAC, Atomic Hoods: K01, Apeks, DUI Fins: OMS Slipstream Electronics: Shearwater Apparel: Fourth Element WATCH NEXT One Forgotten Step: [link] Subscribe for more technical diving stories:    / @babynarc   #rebreatheraccident #diveaccident #technicaldiving #divingaccident #scubaaccident #rebreather #ccrdiving #spinaldcs #wreckdiving #babynarc