Austin, TX - (July 22, 2010) - On Saturday, July 17, children, teens and adults left their crutches, walkers and wheelchairs behind them to explore the underwater world through SCUBA diving at Tom's Dive and Swim.
Seton Brain & Spine Recovery Center, along with Eels on Wheels, offered children and adults with spinal cord injuries and those with other physical disabilities an opportunity to try various SCUBA equipment and have their first experience breathing underwater.
"Image what life would be like if you didn't have the physical ability to do simple tasks, such as brush your teeth in the morning, but were able to SCUBA dive in the Caribbean?," explains Mike Haynes, Manager of the Seton Brain & Spine Recovery Center and an experienced, adaptive SCUBA diver. "This program offers those with physical disabilities an opportunity of a lifetime," say Haynes.
Participants have three phases of opportunities: an
initial experience of breathing underwater and learning the
basics of SCUBA diving to determine if they liked diving and
are comfortable in the water to take the certification course.
The second phase consists of an adapted SCUBA certification
course where a person with a spinal cord injury or other
physical disability will become open water certified. Those
with severe disabilities, such as quadriplegics can also become
open-water certified, but require two dive buddies to operate
their equipment for them. The final phase will be an exotic
trip to Bonaire, Netherland Antilles in the southern Caribbean
to experience SCUBA diving at its best.
Seton is proud to have four hospitals – the only hospitals in Central Texas - that have earned the