This one is a little different. Not only because the dives were done in the training area, but also because of who I dove with.
Yesterday and today, I had the privilege of helping with check out dives for the Wounded Warriors Project. For those who have not heard of this, it is for veterans who were disabled while serving in the gulf war. Their injuries range from missing part of one leg to completely missing both legs. Don't be fooled though, you don't want to get in their way. Previous classes did their check out dives at Balmoreah. This time they chose Aquarena for the proximity to San Antonio.
Day 1
These guys work with minimum assistance and I mean minimum. Myself and the other able bodied folks on hand got the tanks and gear out of the trucks and passes it around. The students were responsible for assembling everything and getting it ready to go. They were also responsible for getting into their wetsuits. It was interesting to see how they managed to accomplish that little task. Ron and Eric brought the barge over to the Landing and we loaded the gear on it, for the ride over to the training area. The students made their own way onto the boat. Once the barge was tied off in the training area, everyone geared up and got in. The students were required to demonstrate the skills, just like any other dive student would. The only exception was neutral buoyancy. Try telling a guy with no legs to do a fin pivot.:11: They all did mask clear, regulator recovery, ... like pros. I was truly impressed. The students were allowed to stay in the water as long as they had air and were not cold. Each dive ended up being about 45 minutes. One of the guys got really cold. He was very thin and had a poor fitting shortie. The guy running the program set him up with a 6.5 mil shortie for day 2. On the 2nd dive, we broke out the scooters for the guys to use. They had fun playing on those, but being young, complained that the scooters were too slow.
Day 2.
One of the students did not make it for the dives as he was sick. I'll be hooking up with him and some of the other students to finish up in a couple of weeks. The first dive included more skills, including navigation. After that it was play time for them. By now, these students were completely comfortable in the water. They use one leg, if they have it, to get around. All of them use their arms for maneuvering. Every one of the guys seemed to enjoy the freedom that diving gave them. Many spent time laying on the bottom, trying to get the perch to come closer to them. I spent about 10 minutes with one of the divers. We were over near the west? wall, watching a group of turtles that were in the lake proper. The scooters came back out for dive 2. A couple of the guys did not bother with them, preferring to make their own way through the water. One of the students wanted to go behind the sub, since he didn't do it on day one. What is normally takes a couple of minutes for me took quite awhile with him. Not because he was having any trouble, but rather because he was taking his time to absorb everything he was seeing. That little trek gave me a whole new view of the beauty that is aquarena. I didn't realize how much stuff I had been buzzing by.
To say the least, this was a life changing experience for me. I was amazed at how these guys took their injuries in stride. There was minimal complaining and each complaint was met with a load of good natured harassment from the other students. They are very self sufficient. These guys require minimal assistance and actually prefer it that way. One of the things I learned is they they know the best way for each of them to get into and out of their gear. If you try to help them too much, you run the risk of pressing against an area of their body that is very sensitive. I am truly impressed with the way these guys handled themselves in the water and would not hesitate to dive again with any of them.
I think the San Antonio River Rats raised some money and is sending this group of new divers to Hawaii. I shamelessly volunteered to tag along, but was not able to score the invite. Maybe next time.
A few of the guys were not able to complete all of the required dives for a variety of reasons. A couple of them took ill and a couple had to leave early for other appointments. I hope to get a chance to get back in the water with them soon, to finish up their required dives. I'm also hoping to be involved with future groups of dive students from this organization.
Even though they will probably never read this post, I want to say a special thanks to Orlando, Alex, Matt, Nick, Nick, Brian and the others. Thanks you for what you did and thank you for helping an old diver appreciate the water all the more.
Yesterday and today, I had the privilege of helping with check out dives for the Wounded Warriors Project. For those who have not heard of this, it is for veterans who were disabled while serving in the gulf war. Their injuries range from missing part of one leg to completely missing both legs. Don't be fooled though, you don't want to get in their way. Previous classes did their check out dives at Balmoreah. This time they chose Aquarena for the proximity to San Antonio.
Day 1
These guys work with minimum assistance and I mean minimum. Myself and the other able bodied folks on hand got the tanks and gear out of the trucks and passes it around. The students were responsible for assembling everything and getting it ready to go. They were also responsible for getting into their wetsuits. It was interesting to see how they managed to accomplish that little task. Ron and Eric brought the barge over to the Landing and we loaded the gear on it, for the ride over to the training area. The students made their own way onto the boat. Once the barge was tied off in the training area, everyone geared up and got in. The students were required to demonstrate the skills, just like any other dive student would. The only exception was neutral buoyancy. Try telling a guy with no legs to do a fin pivot.:11: They all did mask clear, regulator recovery, ... like pros. I was truly impressed. The students were allowed to stay in the water as long as they had air and were not cold. Each dive ended up being about 45 minutes. One of the guys got really cold. He was very thin and had a poor fitting shortie. The guy running the program set him up with a 6.5 mil shortie for day 2. On the 2nd dive, we broke out the scooters for the guys to use. They had fun playing on those, but being young, complained that the scooters were too slow.
Day 2.
One of the students did not make it for the dives as he was sick. I'll be hooking up with him and some of the other students to finish up in a couple of weeks. The first dive included more skills, including navigation. After that it was play time for them. By now, these students were completely comfortable in the water. They use one leg, if they have it, to get around. All of them use their arms for maneuvering. Every one of the guys seemed to enjoy the freedom that diving gave them. Many spent time laying on the bottom, trying to get the perch to come closer to them. I spent about 10 minutes with one of the divers. We were over near the west? wall, watching a group of turtles that were in the lake proper. The scooters came back out for dive 2. A couple of the guys did not bother with them, preferring to make their own way through the water. One of the students wanted to go behind the sub, since he didn't do it on day one. What is normally takes a couple of minutes for me took quite awhile with him. Not because he was having any trouble, but rather because he was taking his time to absorb everything he was seeing. That little trek gave me a whole new view of the beauty that is aquarena. I didn't realize how much stuff I had been buzzing by.
To say the least, this was a life changing experience for me. I was amazed at how these guys took their injuries in stride. There was minimal complaining and each complaint was met with a load of good natured harassment from the other students. They are very self sufficient. These guys require minimal assistance and actually prefer it that way. One of the things I learned is they they know the best way for each of them to get into and out of their gear. If you try to help them too much, you run the risk of pressing against an area of their body that is very sensitive. I am truly impressed with the way these guys handled themselves in the water and would not hesitate to dive again with any of them.
I think the San Antonio River Rats raised some money and is sending this group of new divers to Hawaii. I shamelessly volunteered to tag along, but was not able to score the invite. Maybe next time.
A few of the guys were not able to complete all of the required dives for a variety of reasons. A couple of them took ill and a couple had to leave early for other appointments. I hope to get a chance to get back in the water with them soon, to finish up their required dives. I'm also hoping to be involved with future groups of dive students from this organization.
Even though they will probably never read this post, I want to say a special thanks to Orlando, Alex, Matt, Nick, Nick, Brian and the others. Thanks you for what you did and thank you for helping an old diver appreciate the water all the more.
