EDMONDS, Washington (24 Apr 2009) — Every few minutes during their underwater dive, Fritz Rivera and Brian Berentson would look each other in the eyes and bring thumb to index finger to make the "OK" sign. Late afternoon on April 17, Rivera glanced back through the murky waters in Edmonds Underwater Park for his friend. Berentson wasn't there. "The protocol and the agreement, if we become separated, return to last spot, search for a minute, and then surface," Rivera said. Rivera, an experienced scuba diver, turned around and looked for Berentson, 44. The Snohomish man found his friend unconscious and not breathing floating at the surface in about 15 feet of water. "It's definitely terrifying," Rivera said. Rivera gave Berentson rescue breaths, blowing into his mouth as he quickly swam to shore. When Rivera reached the jetty, he and a bystander started CPR. Edmonds police and rescue crews arrived shortly after that and joined the effort to save Berentson, a father of four and grandfather of two, with a third on the way. It's unclear what happened. The Microsoft project manager may have suffered a heart attack or some other kind of health problem, but that's just speculation, Rivera said. Now, the fight to keep Berentson alive continues in a special intensive care unit for people with brain injuries at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. In the week since being rescued, Berentson has remained in a coma, Rivera said. Starved of oxygen, his body is struggling to recover. Doctors hope that with time, Berentson will show signs of improvement. Berentson and his wife, Marlaine, are active in the Edmonds community. She's a familiar face while serving tables at Chanterelle Restaurant. "She would like to be sure folks in the Edmonds area are aware of the incident and current condition of Brian," Rivera said. Each year, about 20,000 divers wade into the protected waters just north of the ferry landing, Edmonds Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Correira said. Rescue crews are called about twice a year, he said. In 2008, paramedics and firefighters performed two rescues at the dive park. | | The fight to keep scuba diver Brian Berentson alive continues in a special intensive care unit for people with brain injuries at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. Berentson was rushed to hospital after a scuba diving accident near the Edmonds Underwater Park. Still, having an underwater buddy trained in CPR helps. "That really increases the chance of survival," Correira said. Since the accident, Rivera said he's replayed the dive over and over, searching for clues or answers to what happened. "In my mind, I'm looking for what I could have done to prevent this," he said. Many people including the police who responded, Berentson's doctors and scuba diving professionals have told Rivera there's another way to think of what he did for his friend. "They all say the same thing," Rivera said. "He wouldn't be alive if I wasn't there." by Jackson Holtz Help the family Donations to a benevolent account can be made at any Washington Mutual/Chase bank branch under the name Brian Berentson. Updates on Berentson's condition and other information is available at the Web site: www.caringbridge.org/visit/brianberentson. |
