Finally did my first SCUBA experience and enjoyed it despite my disability

[Belzelbub]

At around 60 feet my pump might slow down about 3%, but will resolve itself as I make my way to the surface and after discussing it with my pump doctor she doesn't an issue doing the 2 or so dives at 60 for getting ab open water cert.

The 60' for OW training is just the max depth for those dives. Quite often they can be less. I checked logs for my daughters' OW classes. Both did their checkout dives in a spring. I went with them on the dives. Max depth was 38'.

 

[Pettyfan45]

While the open water certification is technically for depths to 60ft. There is absolutely nothing that states any of the dives need to be that deep. Near me, shops certify hundreds of open water divers every year in a quarry that to go beyond 40ft you'd need a shovel.
Most of the best tropical and quarry diving is done in less than 30 feet of water.
The last dive I did was 92 minutes and my buddy and I never went below 20 feet. And below 15 was only briefly. It was a great relaxing dive.
And with your challenges, a reputable op would require you to dive with a trained buddy who is familiar with your needs. Any that would not require this is one to be avoided.
The agencies that have specific criteria for divers with challenges would have extensive experience and knowledge of places to go.

That is good to know, my local dive shop goes to Beaver Lake in AR for the Open Water Checkout dives, we don't have any quarry lakes in the region and all the lake are are too turbid to dive in.
As far as dive buddies, my local shop just started offering adaptive/ classified diver training and is working in training more instructors and support staff, so by time I (and my sister should she want too) are ready they should be good on that end.

 

[Subcooled]

You might ask the manufacturer of the pump if a drysuit would allow you to dive deeper. My son has an insulin monitor and pump which can only go to 6m but it does fine in a drysuit.

Lots to see in 30ft and you can dive a long time on a single tank.

Pressure inside a drysuit is the same as it is outside. An airtight sealed pump would still collapse/dent/get damaged in a drysuit, I fear.

Some equipment though, such as the insulin monitor and pump possibly, are certified to be waterproof to a certain depth. Go deeper, and water will get in and damage the equipment. Such equipment would be well protected by a drysuit.

 

[Subcooled]

Looking at some stuff on this it seems most of the extreme crushing damage is from people diving to over 100 feet and long times at 60+ feet might make the motor unhappy, so there is some buffer zone. Depending how long I need to be at 60 feet I might be able to a full open water cert and just go places with shallow water diving, definitely something to talk to the doctor about when I it refilled.

Going to 60 feet is probably not relevant (although you could spend 10 secs there!). Refusing it on the grounds of safety, and telling why, would be acceptable in my opinion. Every respectable instructor would love your attitude. Our hobby is very much focused on diver safety. If you do have a hard limit (you apparently do), and you mention it, it shall be respected.

We have to remember that the 60 feet limit is there to facilitate easy self-rescue. Would an inexperienced diver for some reason run out of air at 60 feet, then it wouldn't be that hard for him/her to just swim to the surface. With increasing depth this becomes increasingly difficult, but from 60 ft it's quite doable.

 

[Subcooled]

So I won't be able to go for an advanced/ deep water

The 90 feet limit for advanced open water divers is a maximum safe depth. I don't think it's a compulsory depth

The "experience a deep dive to 90ft" AOWD-thing is for people with no pressure related limitations. For you 60 feet is probably "deep" because of the imminent danger that you pump takes some damage, and you need to limit your time down there. Hence, I'd say that your dive to 60ft would be reminiscent of a decompression dive and is equal to or more serious than the 90ft dive for people without a pump.

Just find an instructor that is willing to certify you as an AOWD diver or equivalent without actually going to 90 feet. Maybe 60ft?
You could then proceed to rescue diving cert, which would teach you self-rescue, risk management and other cool things.

 

[Pettyfan45]

The 90 feet limit for advanced open water divers is a maximum safe depth. I don't think it's a compulsory depth

The "experience a deep dive to 90ft" AOWD-thing is for people with no pressure related limitations. For you 60 feet is probably "deep" because of the imminent danger that you pump takes some damage, and you need to limit your time down there. Hence, I'd say that your dive to 60ft would be reminiscent of a decompression dive and is equal to or more serious than the 90ft dive for people without a pump.

Just find an instructor that is willing to certify you as an AOWD diver or equivalent without actually going to 90 feet. Maybe 60ft?
You could then proceed to rescue diving cert, which would teach you self-rescue, risk management and other cool things.

Interesting, some places make it out that deep diving is part of the required curriculum for Advanced Open Water, but is more a commonly taken option? There are some other things like buoyancy control, night diving, and I have always be into abstract photography so underwater photography could be cool. I would be interested in a a rescue diving cert, but that depends what the practical part of that entails, since I don't have a lot power in my legs and need to use my arms/ hands to swim it could be hard to help like an unresponsive or combative diver, but I do agree the self-rescue and stuff would be good knowledge to have

 

[BoltSnap]

some places make it out that deep diving is part of the required curriculum for Advanced Open Water, but is more a commonly taken option?

The instructor can make modifications to the course to address student(s)' limitations or environmental conditions. If I had to make this decision, I'll contact my agency's training department to get approval first.

 

[Pbdiver84]

Interesting, some places make it out that deep diving is part of the required curriculum for Advanced Open Water, but is more a commonly taken option? There are some other things like buoyancy control, night diving, and I have always be into abstract photography so underwater photography could be cool. I would be interested in a a rescue diving cert, but that depends what the practical part of that entails, since I don't have a lot power in my legs and need to use my arms/ hands to swim it could be hard to help like an unresponsive or combative diver, but I do agree the self-rescue and stuff would be good knowledge to have

Pull up an “unresponsive “ diver to the surface under control, give rescue breaths, tow 100m, and remove The other diver’s gear and get them onto shore.

It is utterly exhausting

 

[Subcooled]

Interesting, some places make it out that deep diving is part of the required curriculum for Advanced Open Water,

Deep diving is a required part - at least for PADI and CMAS.

CMAS International Diver Training Standards and Procedures Manual, for example, sets a 25m or 82ft dive as a requirement, but it does not specify how much time you need to spend below 60 ft. PADI has its own requirements. And then we have NAUI, SSI and others. I do not know those in detail. Given that you are an adaptive diver though, with some extra challenges with depth, I assume that some common sense could be applied to facilitate your further training. Insurance policies, liability, safety and other factors need to be dialed in, though. Legislations may also differ from country to country. Someone might be afraid of certifying you to 90ft, because if you do dive that deep some day and something bad happens, they might need to have a pretty good disclamer signed by you. Certifications are a form of risk management.

I am under the impression that there might not be a specific required depth that a diver absolutely must reach in order to get certified as PADI AOWD. Now, I might be wrong as I do not have access to PADI materials. Maybe someone else here can answer that?

There are some other things like buoyancy control, night diving, and I have always be into abstract photography so underwater photography could be cool.

Underwater photography is great and it is rewarding at shallow depths with lots of light, the surface, vegetation, and so on. It's not my specialty, though. There's an underwater photography forum on Scubaboard: Underwater Photography

To give you some ideas: Underwater Photography - 13 Incredible Photos You've Never Seen Before

I would be interested in a a rescue diving cert, but that depends what the practical part of that entails,

You will locate an unconscious diver at the bottom, assess the situation, and bring him/her to the surface using his/her BCD. Then there's rescue breaths on the surface, and towing (which might be difficult or impossible). Dive planning, risk analysis and understanding the psychological factors will also be included. Now, the point of the course is not to get certified, but to learn the things taught, and doing your best.

since I don't have a lot power in my legs and need to use my arms/ hands to swim it could be hard to help like an unresponsive or combative diver, but I do agree the self-rescue and stuff would be good knowledge to have

It's always better to understand the risks and avoid them in the first place. This is where you can excel.

 

[Sea_Jay]

This is really awesome to read about, glad you found a new freedom! I saw that you are in Missouri, that is where my lady is from (Farmington) and there is a dive site @ the Bonne Terre Mine with average depth of 40-60 feet....you don't need to go all the way down to see things, from what I have heard. I would love to try it someday. It may be the closest "real" dive site to your location, and might speed up your training! (Since you wouldn't have to come all the way down to South FL.....though if you do make it down here, there are plenty of shallow reefs - and even some wrecks - in the 30 ft depth range.....from Jupiter to Key West.