One friend helping another
One person has written the following question-
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"I am looking into dive equipment for a friend of mine who is paralyzed from the waist down. He is interested in diving and what type of fins he would use. I noticed on your site you do equipment demos, what do you recommend for fin use?"
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"I am looking into dive equipment for a friend of mine who is paralyzed from the waist down. He is interested in diving and what type of fins he would use. I noticed on your site you do equipment demos, what do you recommend for fin use?"
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Hi and thank you for
taking time to contact us here at Handi-Divers, llc.
My name is Pete
and I would like to respond to your inquiry.
If I am
understanding you correctly, you are helping a friend who is paralyzed from the
waist down. If I could inquire a bit more as to level he or she is paralyzed at,
that would be helpful. Also, if your friend is complete or incomplete,
ambulatory or non-ambulatory. How recently and how tramatic was this injury? Or
perhaps this is not the result of an injury?
I can offer my own
situation as an example. I have been paralyzed at T-4 for the past 20 years as a
result of a motor vehicle accident. T-4 is about mid chest level, just under the
pectoral muscles. This is considered fairly high for a paraplegic. It does not
interfere with strength or arm movement (range of motion) at all but it does
affect my balance. In my five years of diving I have met a few hundred other
paralyzed divers with a wide range of abilities.
Usually, in what I
have witnessed, people who are not ambulatory (people who cannot stand or walk)
do not use fins. This is not always true, but in general there are only a few
exceptions. Usually people who are not amubulatory use webbed gloves; either
similar to what surfers use or other types of webbed gloves.
The exceptions to
this would be persons who feel that dragging fins behind them helps to keep
their legs stable or helps make their legs more bouyant. Since a person's legs
are usually quite bouyant without fins, those handi-divers using fins may also
decide to use ankle weights to keep from being upside down. Again, these are
exceptions. Most handi-divers use webbed gloves instead of
fins.
Rarely, a
handi-diver will use a scooter (Dive Propulsion Vehicle, DPV). I personally love
using my scooter.
Those handi-divers
who are both non-ambulatory and without good arm strength, need the assistance
of two able bodied divers who take turns propelling the handi-diver.
If I might suggest
something more important than fins, it would be weight placement. Most modern
Bouyancy Compensation Devices (BCDs or BCs) usually have integrated weights.
These weight pockets are usually located as to be within easy reach of each
hand- one for the left hand and one for the right hand. While this style of
weight placement is great for ambulatory divers, it can result in an awkward
sensation of instability for handi-divers--- especially new handi-divers who are
still learning how to control their bouyancy. What I have had success with (in
constructing my own dive profile) is placing about two thirds of my weight in
these dumpable weight pockets and the remaining third of the lead in a cumberbun
weight pocket. Since this is non-dumpable, it is not intended to be a sole
source of weight, only enough to "trim" the dive profile. This is similar to
trim weights that ambulatory divers sometimes use to offset the balance of other
equipment. Ambulatory divers usually place trim weights next to their tank but
handi-divers benefit more from having the trim weights in the cumberbum. Each BC
is different and each diver is different. Finding the right amount of lead, and
placement of lead, is always important and this only becomes more important when
we are talking about non ambulatory divers.
In general, I would
say that if you want to help your friend learn how to dive, there are several
options for both you and your friend to learn. Going solo is always an option
but that can be a slow, hit and miss approach. If you were to go on one of the
trips with other handi-divers, you can learn a ton of things in a short amount
of time. Probably the one group that has the most handi-dvers per trip is Dive
Pirates (www.divepirates.org) If your
friend is college aged or below, I would suggest a group called Stay Focused.
Both of those groups dive the Caymans. Of course, the one group that has been
doing this the longest and has the most to teach would be Handicapped Scuba
Association (www.hsascuba.com) The
Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA) may not have the most handi-divers on the
upcoming trip to Borneo, I have no idea, but I do know that the guy running the
trip is Jim Gatacre and nobody on planet earth knows more about handicapped
scuba than Jim. Personally, I love Hawaii the best and that is where
Handi-Divers will be going in March. (Either that or Cozumel, I'm not quite sure
yet.)
Remember, being
comfortable in the water is really important. Of course, working in the pool is
a prerequisite to any type of dive training.
Also, I have some
insprirational videos for sale, as do other organizations. These can be quite
motivating; especially for any paralyzed person still considering the plunge but
also for those wanting to teach them.
Before
I can make any specific suggestions, I would have to know more information.
There are lots of groups out there. I can always talk more with
you about whatever questions you have.
Sincerely
Pete
Gamble
Managing Owner,
Handi-Divers llc.
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