What memories!
The next day we did paraplegic exercises. They strapped my legs together with a weight belt and took away my fins. All propulsion was by hand. When you spend as much time as I do keeping students from using their hands, this really becomes FUN. While I felt I excelled at being blind, I did not feel competent as a hands only swimmer. I could not accomplish the ditch and don or the CESA. What an eye opener. Taking on a physically challenged diver means that THEY are doing a "trust me" dive. Your buddy skills have to be exceptional with such a diver. I had the tables turned on me as I had to assist a paraplegic diver. Remember, you have to help them get dressed as well, worry about their temp as you get ready to splash and then facilitate them getting in and (more importantly) back out!
That afternoon, we mimicked quadriplegic divers. All I could move was my head indicating either no or yes. Again, you have to dress them, put their gear on and even their mask. I watched intently as Jim did a demonstration. You have to descend slowly, making sure both of your buoyancies match. Then, just before you completely submerge, you pinch their nostrils so they can equalize. You give them the OK and they indicate only yes or no. If it's no, you have to figure out what's wrong. Point to your ears and give the OK sign, then wait for them to respond. Point to your mask and do the same. You keep pointing and asking and hopefully you figure it all out. My "quad" seemed to be comfortable during the five minutes we toured around Jules. I had her in a sitting position and kind of flew her around the park. I was banking them gently in turns and giving them the underwater equivalent of a theme park ride, without all the ups and downs of course! After the dive, my quad said she felt safe and comfortable. This was the ultimate "trust me" dive.
Then it was my turn to be the quad and things got downright silly. The first person to take me down did OK. There were a few things that could have been smoother, but she was a quick study and corrected them quickly. The second person (the one I took around the park) had a great deal more difficulty. First, she deflated me completely while she was still buoyant. I plummeted to the bottom and she quickly got me up. The next attempt was a tad bit better, but she was still rushed. she pinched only the end of my nose so I didn't equalize. Somehow, I found myself upside down (looking up) and descending with my feet trailing us, somewhere above my head. I bumped into the bottom and immediately started shaking my head "no". I felt pressure in my ears! Bump, slide, bump, slide. I must say that I had never experienced Jules quite like this before and I thought my neck would snap the way I was shaking it. Bump slide, bump slide, we are down to about twenty feet now and she has completely missed me shaking my head "no". My ears are hurting so I finally come out of character, give the thumbs up sign and head for the surface. Oh crap! I'm not wearing fins!!!
When I get to the surface, I find Jim laughing right out loud and pointing at me. He was amazed that I was such a "good sport" as he puts it, and let her continue. Well heck, you only learn by doing. I gave her my honest appraisal of how she needed to change her approach and Jim added an insight or two as well. On her third attempt, she went far slower and was so much more in control. My nose was pinched correctly and often and she paid attention to my signals. Again, I felt like I was flying around the park. She did GREAT!!! Yay!!!
I wasn't able to finish the training the next day, so I still have another full day of training. I can't wait to keep at this so I can assist real divers with adaptive scuba! It will be fun!
