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This is pretty cool -- what an inspiration --
Link to the story and there is a video there as well --
http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_033184209.html
Disabled Coloradans Go On Special Scuba Trip
Jodi Brooks
Reporting
(CBS4) ENGLEWOOD, Colo. A group of disabled people from Colorado recently traveled to a place where their motion isn't restricted ... the undersea waters of the Caribbean.
The scuba diving trip was specifically designed for quadriplegics and paraplegics. The five participants, all Craig Hospital patients, said the trip to the Cayman Islands turned out to be more than just scuba diving. For each person the trip helped bring about self discovery.
A-1 Scuba & Travel in Englewood partnered with Craig Hospital 20 years ago in its effort to help spinal cord-injured patients experience the freedom of being under water. With this recent trip, their disabled dive program has reached new heights.
"I want people with disabilities to know that there's another activity that they can participate in," Scott Taylor, A-1 co-owner, told CBS4.
Taylor and Craig Hospital Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Carol Huserik led the group on their journey to the quaint island of Cayman Brac, a sister island to Grand Cayman and a favorite spot for scuba divers around the world.
The trip was challenging to set up in part because there are only a handful of handicapped-accessible resorts in the Caribbean. Taylor and Huserik were able to make reservations at Divi Tiara, which had the ramps for the rooms.
The Participants
Two of the divers on the trip were Scott Webster, 35, and Judy Huston, 64. During their underwater experiences they both got certified by PADI, the international scuba certification and safety organization. PADI stands for Professional Association of Diving Instructors.
Each dove with a buddy and had to go through a series of tests, including removing their masks underwater and then putting it back on.
"I'm so thrilled to have done it, and to have gotten certified ... to find out that 'I can do this -- hey, I can do this,'" Huston said.
"Whether you're in a wheelchair or not, you don't know what you can do unless you just try it," Webster said.
Also on the trip was Tom Isaac, 57, a quadriplegic who is paralyzed from the neck down. He became certified through the International Association for Handicapped Divers on the trip.
CBS4 filmed him when he was underwater in the Caymans and showed how he was able to communicate with two buddies who swam around with him under water.
"I can raise my right arm a little bit, and I'd point to my nose, I'd point to my face mask, point to my ears," Isaac said.
Dave Farrell, 35, and Dave Hosick, 40, were already certified, but said they were thrilled to be with other disabled divers and seeing undersea marvels like lobsters, sea turtles and two tamed groupers that the divers could pet.
"It gives me the joy that I got out of the other things I did," Farrell said. "I get back to the same kind of happiness I had before."
"I want to go further now ... I want to go deeper now; I want to do some more technical diving," Hosick said.
Never Giving Up
Twenty three years ago Taylor submitted an article to a scuba magazine about wanting to get disabled people scuba diving. The publication refused to publish it, saying the dive industry just wasn't ready for the idea.
Taylor said he never stopped believing, and now he plans to do more similar trips with Huserik.
"For as long as I've been doing this I still get choked up because it is just so moving," Huserik said.
(© MMVI CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
__________________
Link to the story and there is a video there as well --
http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_033184209.html
Disabled Coloradans Go On Special Scuba Trip
Jodi Brooks
Reporting
(CBS4) ENGLEWOOD, Colo. A group of disabled people from Colorado recently traveled to a place where their motion isn't restricted ... the undersea waters of the Caribbean.
The scuba diving trip was specifically designed for quadriplegics and paraplegics. The five participants, all Craig Hospital patients, said the trip to the Cayman Islands turned out to be more than just scuba diving. For each person the trip helped bring about self discovery.
A-1 Scuba & Travel in Englewood partnered with Craig Hospital 20 years ago in its effort to help spinal cord-injured patients experience the freedom of being under water. With this recent trip, their disabled dive program has reached new heights.
"I want people with disabilities to know that there's another activity that they can participate in," Scott Taylor, A-1 co-owner, told CBS4.
Taylor and Craig Hospital Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Carol Huserik led the group on their journey to the quaint island of Cayman Brac, a sister island to Grand Cayman and a favorite spot for scuba divers around the world.
The trip was challenging to set up in part because there are only a handful of handicapped-accessible resorts in the Caribbean. Taylor and Huserik were able to make reservations at Divi Tiara, which had the ramps for the rooms.
The Participants
Two of the divers on the trip were Scott Webster, 35, and Judy Huston, 64. During their underwater experiences they both got certified by PADI, the international scuba certification and safety organization. PADI stands for Professional Association of Diving Instructors.
Each dove with a buddy and had to go through a series of tests, including removing their masks underwater and then putting it back on.
"I'm so thrilled to have done it, and to have gotten certified ... to find out that 'I can do this -- hey, I can do this,'" Huston said.
"Whether you're in a wheelchair or not, you don't know what you can do unless you just try it," Webster said.
Also on the trip was Tom Isaac, 57, a quadriplegic who is paralyzed from the neck down. He became certified through the International Association for Handicapped Divers on the trip.
CBS4 filmed him when he was underwater in the Caymans and showed how he was able to communicate with two buddies who swam around with him under water.
"I can raise my right arm a little bit, and I'd point to my nose, I'd point to my face mask, point to my ears," Isaac said.
Dave Farrell, 35, and Dave Hosick, 40, were already certified, but said they were thrilled to be with other disabled divers and seeing undersea marvels like lobsters, sea turtles and two tamed groupers that the divers could pet.
"It gives me the joy that I got out of the other things I did," Farrell said. "I get back to the same kind of happiness I had before."
"I want to go further now ... I want to go deeper now; I want to do some more technical diving," Hosick said.
Never Giving Up
Twenty three years ago Taylor submitted an article to a scuba magazine about wanting to get disabled people scuba diving. The publication refused to publish it, saying the dive industry just wasn't ready for the idea.
Taylor said he never stopped believing, and now he plans to do more similar trips with Huserik.
"For as long as I've been doing this I still get choked up because it is just so moving," Huserik said.
(© MMVI CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
__________________
