Coming up next on Jonathan Bird's Blue World,
Jonathan meets a group of veterans learning to scuba dive as
rehabilitation for their injuries.
Hi, I'm Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world!
Most people learn to scuba dive as a recreational activity, combining a love of the water with
the desire to explore beneath the waves. But sometimes scuba diving can be therapeutic.
Today I am meeting a remarkable group of people who learned to dive as a way to heal after
serious injury. These men and women are part of a Wounded Warrior program that helps
injured members of the military learn to dive as therapy.
I was in Afghanistan conducting operations out there and I stepped in a doorway to clear
a room and there was a pressure plate inside the doorway. I stepped on it with my left
foot and it took my leg there.
I received a gunshot wound to my right leg in 2009 and it shattered about five inches
of my femur.
Tasha lost some of her fingers in a training accident.
So I pulled my hands out and I was like "I told you I didn't want to go on this deployment!"
and just started making all these jokes. And everyone was like "Are you crazy? Your hands
are mangled and you are still joking?" and I was like...I have to.
I was in a 4 wheeler accident and I broke my neck and I was paralyzed from the neck
down. The doctors told me that I would never walk again, but obviously they were wrong.
I had some good surgeons and some great support from my friends and family and here I am running
with the best of them. I will say that scuba diving is the first time that I haven't felt
the limitations of my injury since the accident.
Stewart Snyder is the Course Director of the Handicap Scuba Association International.
Stu and his team are the ones who taught these wounded warriors to dive.
When the Wounded Warriors project came along, there's a watersports festival in New York
City. We went up there for the first time with the Be-A-Diver pool, and we had 35 soldiers
get in it and try scuba diving. The funny part about it is, we couldn't get them out
of the pool.
Each year, after they do their pool and classroom training, several wounded warriors get the
chance to travel to the island of Bonaire to complete their training in the open ocean.
This year, six wounded warriors have come to Captain Don's Habitat to learn to scuba
dive.
One by one, the warriors enter the water and I'm right behind with my camera to document their adventure.
The warriors start with a basic reef dive to see some marine life. Next they visit a
shipwreck, 80 feet below the surface. Divers of all ages and experience levels love to
explore shipwrecks. In addition to being a magnet for marine life, wrecks are just plain
fun to swim through!
Shipwreck or coral reef, these wounded warriors find some peace, relaxation and a little adventure
as they dive in the beautiful, clear waters of Bonaire.
You just kind of forget everything, forget your worries, just focus on what you are doing.
There's nothing like it, there's no gravity down there, just do what you want. It's beautiful.
You're free. You can go up, down, left, right, any direction you want to go and there's something
cool there to look at.
Once I get in the water, I still do have pain but it's not nearly what it is while I'm here
on land and moving around and everything. So I love it and so I plan on moving forward
with the whole thing too.
I think it gives them back self-confidence, self-worth. A lot of times I see them...they
are a little hesitant to get in the water. Then they get in and then it opens a whole
new world. It's easier for some of them to move because they are missing legs and arms...
When you are in the water, you aren't thinking about your injury, you are thinking about
what is going on in that moment. The experience just takes your mind off everything else.
I'm looking into going further in the whole realm of scuba diving mainly because I live
with pain on a constant basis. It's always there. And scuba diving is the one thing that
makes it not hurt as much as it always does.
It absolutely has helped with my recovery. You know, it gets me out doing things I wouldn't
normally do and it's good physical therapy and helps me work on my coordination, and
helps control my breathing. Under the water you use muscles you wouldn't normally use,
you carry your equipment around so you get stronger and faster and more coordinated and
it's just been amazing so far.
I don't even feel like there's really a handicap there. It's non stressful. I go out there
and jump in with my water leg and there's really no difference.
Bonaire honors the Wounded Warriors with a motorcycle procession through Bonaire. Captain
Don's even loans me a Harley Davidson to join the procession.
We also attend a reception at the home of Lt. Governor Glenn Thode. I use the opportunity
for some shameless promotion—hopefully turning the governor and his wife into Blue World
fans!
I left that evening with a tremendous respect for these men and women who sacrificed so
much for our country and never give up. And I gained a new respect for scuba diving, which
is helping them heal and recover from the wounds. The opportunity to meet and dive with
these amazing heroes will always make this trip to Bonaire very special.