A E London Journal

Fri, Dec 14th, 2012

Our Cozumel DIVEHEART Adventure

Jim Has been working with a foundation called “DIVEHEART" for the past several years. It is an organization that teaches disabled children, adults, and veterans to scuba dive. After learning to dive, they are taken on a dive trip to use their new skills. Although I was very nervous, I accompanied Jim to Cozumel in the 1st week of December to do what I could on this Diveheart sponsored trip.

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Our team of disabled divers and volunteers
We had several disabled divers and a wonderful team of volunteers to help them meet this challenge

Our team of disabled divers and volunteers

In between dives
This is John the head of thine heart in England, Juan Carlos (AKA "J.C."), Anne and I resting between dives

In between dives

J. C. Being assisted to start his dive.
JC has been paralyzed most of his life. He is an Olympic Hand cyclist, and has been diving for several years.

J. C. Being assisted to start his dive.

Crinoids and sponges
The marine life was beautiful. On these trips ,I am the Marine Biology teacher. Between dives ,I teach them about what they are seeing.

Crinoids and sponges

Anne helping Anna
Anna has lupus and although she took the time to train to dive, she was unsure how her body would react to the pressure and rigors of diving. It turned out there were no problems and she had the adventure of her life

Anne helping Anna

JC and Karen exploring a wreck
It was quite a thrill to explore this Wreck in 90 feet of water! Karen, 2nd from right, has been paralyzed from the chest down for about 30 years. At 19, she dove into a swimming pool at night and broke her neck. She lives in Miami and dives frequently

JC and Karen exploring a wreck

Octopus and turtles were awesome
I teach the divers about Coral spawning and growth, fish"cleaning stations", shark biology ,and answer questions about what they saw on the last dive.

Octopus and turtles were awesome

The bow at 90 feet sitting on the sand
This is Ashley, A 22-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. This is her 2nd trip to Cozumel and we call her"the mermaid" she is so comfortable in the water

The bow at 90 feet sitting on the sand

Big grouper on the reef

Big grouper on the reef

Jim, Rick, and Erika–a photo from Jim's last DIVEHEART trip
Erika was the 1st blind and deaf diver in history. Rick was her buddy and is also blind. Enabling Erika and Rick to dive was one of the most rewarding challenges in Jim's life.,

Jim, Rick, and Erika–a photo from Jim's last DIVEHEART trip

we saw turtles on every dive

we saw turtles on every dive

Anna going in
It was really inspiring to watch these disabled divers meeting the challenges of scuba diving. It made a big difference in their confidence and gave me a new perspective on my own life.

Anna going in

Jim and I decompressing
Although I was very nervous about my capabilities, Jim took good care of me and by the 2nd day I was very comfortable in the water. Diving with these folks was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Jim and I decompressing

another Octopus

another Octopus

Exchanging stories on the boat
One of the unexpected treats of this trip was getting to know the other volunteers.Matt On the right, was an X special forces commando in the British Army. Kat had adopted 2 children from the Congo and one from China.

Exchanging stories on the boat

Exploring my 1st wreck
From diving on a sunken ship, to sharing the wonder and magic of the ocean with folks who face challenges every day of their life, I will never forget this trip.

Exploring my 1st wreck

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