Hello From Florida

[Goannaman]

I thought I would actually say hi, after lurking for a while.

For a little bit about me: I was certified in 1994, I dove somewhat regularly until 2002, when I lost my leg to cancer. It is kind of easy to lose perspective after that, and for a variety of reasons, diving didn't even cross my mind until recently.

Last year I decided to get back into shape, and given how much I love the water (and hate running) swimming laps was a huge part of my cardio. At a certain point, I thought "Hey, I am every bit as comfortable in the water now as I was before...why aren't I diving again?".

Divorce kind of pushed that train off the tracks, but now that is behind me, and I am back diving.

I don't know what sort of diving I will be doing mostly. Living in Florida, I obviously have no shortage of options. I am really leaning towards at least intro to tech, and, possibly, cave certification.

I like to learn as much as possible, so that is one reason I am looking forward to additional training, but in addition to that, I don't want to feel like my training is holding me back from doing dives I am interested in.

In any event, I suppose that is enough babbling. Nice to meet you all in advance.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Welcome to the "light" of :sblogo:

Thank you for sharing some of your personal experiences. Our instructor at our shop is a below the knee amputee. His diving has come along way in the last 11yrs. It used to be you couldn't get the prosthetics wet, so for many years, he dove with just the one fin. Now, he can dive with his prosthetic and is just as fast and capable as any other diver. Check out shops that have HSA Handicap Scuba Association or Diveheart The DiveHeart Foundation - Home affiliations. These shops, like ours, have been trained to get disabled divers in the water and to help them assist those divers in overcoming the obstacles that they may encounter.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/
Also check out the Florida Conch Diver forum: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/ They are an awesome bunch and you will be able to meet up with many divers in your area.

Happy diving!
Carolyn:shark2:

 

[Goannaman]

Thanks!

I actually dive with my fake leg on, but don't wear a fin. At this point it is only there for moving around out of the water. No problem getting it wet, it is all carbon fiber/ stainless steel, and titanium. So, I just rinse it after a dive.

I have an appointment with prosthetist to get a special "swim ankle" which will let me use two fins. As it stands, while I admire the mission/ efforts of the HSA, I don't really plan on using them in any way. I can exceed the standards of at least PADI and NAUI with one fin, so I don't feel the need to seek out handicaped specific training.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Great to hear it!

As an amputee and a diver, you are the ones that we need to get those that have suffered a loss of a limb in the water. Maybe something to think about...my dive buddy and instructor got into diving because he was told he couldn't do it. I think that is why he became an instructor, to share the success he has experienced diving.

Happy diving!
Carolyn:shark2:

 

[Scuba-Geek]

Hello fellow Floridian! If you want to do some spearfishing, come on out to the Gulf coast where the amber jack are HUGE! I'm sorry to hear about the path it took to get here, but you're hear and enjoying it, that's great!