The Bends

Baywalkers call it the Staggers. Divers call it the Chokes. Either name is accurate depending on how far it has progressed.
  The Bends is a physiological affliction caused by pressurized gas accumulating in the blood, bones, and soft tissues during underwater diving. It occurs when a diver surfaces too quickly, denying the body time to decompress, or when repeated dives are performed without adequate recovery time at the surface. The result is a cascade of symptoms that begins with disorientation and ends, in untreated cases, with paralysis and permanent neurological damage.
  Left untreated, the Bends advances through three distinct stages. The initial stage strips physical capability: balance, coordination, and athletic performance degrade sharply. The second stage reaches the senses, dulling hearing and blurring vision. The third stage is where the Bends earns its darker names. Severe fatigue sets in alongside a loss of physical strength. Paralysis settles into the lower extremities, and a diver who reaches this stage without treatment may never walk unassisted again.
  Prevention is the only reliable medicine. Surface gradually. Allow the body time to decompress between dives. These rules are drilled into Baywalker salvage crews from childhood, because the communities of the Mass depend on underwater salvage for survival, and every diver lost to the Bends is a reminder that haste beneath the waterline has a price the surface cannot always pay back.