Old guy's diving cane for entry/exit

[tursiops]

I made it the way I did so I could collapse it and clip it to my harness/BC. When I get really old I'll make a PVC walker - lol. Not sure how to make that collapsable. Might have to bring it with me and leave it as an indicator of the exit point. At least I have a lot of time to think about it and get it designed.

I'll let you know how it works once I get a chance to use it. May 3rd I'm having rotator cuff surgery and that's got me in a sling for 6 weeks and nothing strenuous for 4-6- months - well that's what the Doc says. I'm thinking more like 4 weeks in a sling and 2-3 months before I can dive again.

My rotator cuff surgery last year was 6 weeks in a sling, sitting sitting up, then 9 months of PT and exercising to begin to feel OK. Now at 14 months post surgery, full range of motion but still working on strength. I went diving, gently, at 4 months post-surgery, and had problems getting up the ladder to the boat, and had to hand up my camera with my good arm.
Good luck.

By the way, although the written rules do not expressly prohibit them, things like muck sticks, pointers, and walking sticks also appear (from reports on various forums and from signs at Bonaire dive shops) to be prohibited. So I'd keep its use discreet.

 

[Kharon]

... I went diving, gently, at 4 months post-surgery, and had problems getting up the ladder to the boat ...

Shouldn't be a problem as I'll only be diving from shore for about a year.

By the way, although the written rules do not expressly prohibit them, things like muck sticks, pointers, and walking sticks also appear (from reports on various forums and from signs at Bonaire dive shops) to be prohibited. So I'd keep its use discreet.

Hmm. Never saw any signs anywhere, though I only use Dive Friends Bonaire. Where/what shops did you see them? I'll have to check on Bonaire Talk to see if anyone has heard of this.

 

[tursiops]

Canes are OK, according to STINAPA:
==================================

On 4/13/18, 13:36, XXX wrote:
From: XXX

Message Body:
Are folding canes OK to help with shore entries and exits? They would be
stowed away during the dive.

On April 16, 2018 10:17:15 AM EDT, STINAPA Bonaire <info@stinapa.org> wrote:

Yes that¹s ok, just don¹t use them on the dive please, thanks!

Anouschka van de Ven
Communications Coordinator
STINAPA Bonaire
Barcadera z/n
Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean
T: +599 - 717 8444
mail:communications@stinapa.org
www.stinapa.org
www.facebook.com/bonaire.stinapa

 

[Kharon]

Thanks for the followup. I'm real glad they have a sensible policy.

 

[grf88]

My rotator cuff surgery last year was 6 weeks in a sling, sitting sitting up, then 9 months of PT and exercising to begin to feel OK. Now at 14 months post surgery, full range of motion but still working on strength. I went diving, gently, at 4 months post-surgery, and had problems getting up the ladder to the boat, and had to hand up my camera with my good arm.
Good luck.

My experience with rotator cuff surgery was very similar with strength taking much longer to get back than range of movement, for me over 2 years. Sitting up to sleep is not much fun but I found it almost impossible to lie down. Easy warm water diving after 6 months but a lot longer for Great Lakes diving. Make sure you do all the therapy recommended and then do a lot more.