One-legged divers?

[ibnygator]

OK, I did a search before posting this, but didn't find any significant discussions. Please point me to it if this has been discussed before...

I was out skiing yesterday and as I was riding up the lift at one point I saw several one-legged skiers pass beneath me on the slope. I am impressed with the will of these folks not to let the loss of a leg stand in their way of living their lives and doing what they want to do. Being a diver, this set me to wondering if a person could continue to dive if they lost a leg. It seems to me it would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to fin well enough to dive effectively.

Anybody have any thoughts?

 

[WreckWriter]

Anybody have any thoughts?

I've seen it done. The person will require help getting on and off the boat but provided their remaining leg is healthy and strong, and provided they stay away from strong currents, there's no reason they cannot continue to dive recreationally.

WW

 

[Walter]

I've never met a diver with only one leg, but I do know divers who are paraplegic. I also know one diver who lost one arm and both legs in Viet Nam.

I would guess a diver with only one leg would need to use different techniques, but I don't see it as anything that should prevent anyone from diving. When approaching a task, we all need to concentrate on what we can do, not on what we can't do. Our limitations may turn us toward different methods. All too often what limits us most is our imaginations.

 

[Drewpy]

I dove with a guy in Roatan who had lost a leg in a motorcycle accident and had a special prosthetic leg made with the ankle inverted and a fin permenantly attached -he had no problems at all and was a very good diver!He needed a little assistance getting up the ladder but other than that he was fine!
His buddies on the other hand were cruel-hiding his walking leg and putting it in trees etc when he returned from shore dives!

 

[CBulla]

I dove with a guy in Key Largo who had one leg. He had a stick with a half a wood or fiberglass ball on the other end. Topping things off he was a commercial diver from MA and he had a very intersting sense of humor. I didnt see him experiencing any difficulties (perhaps because his 'buddy' was a retired royal marine from her majasties navy who put him on his tank to get over to the better side of the reef to terrorize lobster and morray's), and he got on and off the boat without any help - I think he went into the water via some weird half-gainer or something.

One thing I'll never forget is his looking for a peice of gear - "Anybody seen my fin? Its the blue one!"

 

[Lead_carrier]

and dives better than a lot of 2 legged divers. She doesn't swim fast, but why worry about fast while diving? She does an excellent job, keeps within her limits and always asks for assistance IF she needs it.

 

[ibnygator]

I haven't posted in a while or followed the discussions much, but it is nice to have a place to come and ask a question and get a few thoughtful replies.

 

[DivingGal]

I have gone diving with amputees, as other have said they may require some help getting in and out of the water (depending on the conditions), but u/w, usually with some minor equipment modication they have no problem. In fact many of those that I have gone diving with have exceptional buoyancy skills.

The Handicapped Scuba Association provides training for both this type of diver and their buddies.

 

[Scottri]

I helped train a woman that had one leg amputated above the knee. She did great. The only real challenge was getting her in and out of the water on shore dives. She would get down to the water and don her gear in the water but other than that she was a great student and has gone on to do a lot of diving. She would kick with her good leg and use her hand to help when changing course. I also helped train a quadraplegic diver through the HSA program. He was awesome. He could do about 80 percent of the required skills for the PADI program. There are some special logistics involved but it really isn't as difficult as it first seems. You would be surprised how adaptable people are when they are motivated to learn and try something new. I plan to get more involved in the HSA program.

Scott

 

[rmediver2002]

One of my friends lost a leg (below he knee) while on active duty. After recooperation he went to a medical review board and was allowed to stay on diving duty.

Never had any problems...

This is actually not all that uncommon in the military

One tough Marine is a story about a recon diver that lost a leg...

Men of Honor, navy diver who lost a leg...


They all kept diving with no troubles...

Jeff Lane