Dear Friends and Supporters of Matt Johnston,

[Matt the Aquaman]

It is the eve of two very marquee events for the Diving a Dream project, as Matthew Johnston strives to achieve to significant milestones in the coming months, and we are in need of your support.

On June 18, you will have the opportunity to meet Matt, and dive with him and his team during the DUI Dog Days and Demo Rally event at Wazee Lake, Wisconsin. This represents among the first open water dives for Matt Johnston.

Second, preparation are underway for a DEMA Road trip event in November of this year. Thanks to Diving a Dream supporter Jere Thorne, Matt and company will travel from Minnesota to Orlando Florida, participate in DEMA, and then venture southward to the Florida Keys for Matt's first ocean dive. We will keep you abreast of trip details as we get closer.

Both events are in need of your continued financial support. Details on how to support the project can be found on www.divingadream.org/HowToHelp.html . For a limited time, for a donation of $150 or more, you will receive a framed 5x7 photo of Matt Johnston reaching among his first major goals...spending one hour underwater.

Your generosity to-date has enabled a considerable amount of successes, each advancing the dive industry, not to mention affording Matt Johnston his dream. These include:

1. enabling the first-ever ventilator dependant scuba dive
2. opening the possibilities for diving with muscular dystrophy
3. advancing dive training programs, in awarding the first-ever dive certification to a ventilator dependent diver.

Thank you for your continued support.

Warmest regards,

Diving a Dream

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Glad to hear things are going along for you Matt! I've not PM'd you in awhile due to alot of personal and business obligations. I have however been following along. I would like to let you know that my fiance Denise and i were in Key Largo the first week of May. And although she did not get in the ocean I did have her in the pool and she for the first time at Amy Slate's breath through a snorkel with a pro ear mask on and she loved it. She was only in the water to the top or her forehead and only for a few seconds,( she started to laugh and we know what happened then) but she did it and loved it. Now searching for her own pro ear type mask, ( she has tubes and cannot get water in her ears) or a helmet type setup. And a doctor who will sign off on her diving since her mother has sabotaged things with the one she has now. The tubes may limit her depth to surface supplied snorkeling type set up but she will be able to see the reef and fish without lifting her head. Especially if we tie hotdogs to her to attract them. Anyway wish I could be there for your dives and at DEMA but no vacation time available and since she is not "employed" by the shop they told me she would not be allowed on the floor at DEMA. Anyway good luck and dive safe. Jim

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

Hi Buddy, Thats alright we both have been pretty busy lately. Thats cool that you where in Key Largo, sounds like you guys had a lot of fun. Thats cool that your finace was able to be under water for awhile, thats a pretty cool mask. It would be a lot cheaper to get a pro ear mask instead of a helmet. I wanted to get this helmet, but theres no way I could afford it, it's $5,000. This one only weights 25lbs thats pretty light for this type of helmet. DeepSea Lightweight Model DSL A-1

Who ones maybe your finace will be albe to go deeper. Well it sounds like mom needs to stay out of things. Doctors don't know everything, I should know. They told my Aunt that she had cancer and she never did. And for me I should've have been dead by now. My friends and I are working on something that will let me go 20-30ft when I go to Key Largo.

The dive shop I think is a bunch of hooye for not letting your finace on the floor at DEMA. I don't own a store but I going. It sounds like you must have used up your vacation time anyways. well I didn't mean to sound mean, but I just speak my mind.

Take care Matt

Glad to hear things are going along for you Matt! I've not PM'd you in awhile due to alot of personal and business obligations. I have however been following along. I would like to let you know that my fiance Denise and i were in Key Largo the first week of May. And although she did not get in the ocean I did have her in the pool and she for the first time at Amy Slate's breath through a snorkel with a pro ear mask on and she loved it. She was only in the water to the top or her forehead and only for a few seconds,( she started to laugh and we know what happened then) but she did it and loved it. Now searching for her own pro ear type mask, ( she has tubes and cannot get water in her ears) or a helmet type setup. And a doctor who will sign off on her diving since her mother has sabotaged things with the one she has now. The tubes may limit her depth to surface supplied snorkeling type set up but she will be able to see the reef and fish without lifting her head. Especially if we tie hotdogs to her to attract them. Anyway wish I could be there for your dives and at DEMA but no vacation time available and since she is not "employed" by the shop they told me she would not be allowed on the floor at DEMA. Anyway good luck and dive safe. Jim

 

[scubapolly]

DUDE!!!!
I just got on DUI's web site and you are the DOG of the week!

Good luck at Wazee next weekend, wish I could make it. :mooner:

 

[H2Andy]

that is awesome, matt!

nice pic, btw

 

[do it easy]

I'm already making plans for Wazee!

Jim, that bit about the hot dogs reminded me of a shark feeding what we were doing with some kids with spinal cord injuries. No, we weren't feeding THEM to the sharks. Anyhow, we were all arranged in a semi circle around the feeder with the bait bucket and he was herding the sharks around the divers. While he was at the other end of the group, I was looking around, and I saw one of the bait fish floating behind us- so I picked it up and showed it to my buddy, who happened to be an incomplete quad. He was a little excited and didn't want the bait fish anywhere near him. He was afraid that it would attract the herd of reef sharks. I tried my best to get rid of it, but there was no current and it's not like I could just throw it like a baseball underwater. We eventually got it far enough away with a few flicks of the fins, but I know my buddy will never forget that moment.

OK, hijack over, I'm excited about Wazee! For me, this is history in the making. I don't get the chance to dive to many pioneers or explorers, so this will be a real treat just to be around. So Matt, tell us a little about what kind of gear modifications you have done since I last saw the suit. What's you rig look like now? Did you add the rebreather or just modify the ventilator?

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

Yo Paulie, Yes me and Drew are the DOG of the week, it is cool. Wish you were coming too, but oh well.

Take care, Matt.

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

Thanks Andy!

Matt

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

Hey do it easy!

I look forward to seeing you there, it should be a blast. The only modifications are I have added a zipper on the front of of my dry suit for east acess when I am at the surface, to get to my connectors with ease. You can see the zipper in the link Paulie just put up.

Well the rebreather and the vent stuff is still in the works, that will be done when we go to Florida. So far I have the first prototype housing for the vent.

Take care, Matt

 

[scubapolly]

Yo Paulie, Yes me and Drew are the DOG of the week, it is cool. Wish you were coming too, but oh well.

Take care, Matt.

Who is typing for you, and why don't they know how to spell my name

Drew, schmew......he's only on there because of you..... and you can tell him I said that.