Wounded soldiers fight back with new scuba diving careers

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sskasser

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I hope this isn't a duplicate post. I looked around and didn't see it here anywhere. These guys are an inspiration :)

Wounded soldiers fight back with new scuba diving careers - Wales News - News - WalesOnline

Page 1:
They were veterans of Afghanistan who turned to scuba diving to help them recover from their battlefield injuries.
Now two soldiers have turned what had been intended as recuperation into an unlikely new career underwater.
Brad Hughes, from Llandudno, was badly wounded in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan in 2008.
brad-hughes-21928353.jpg

He was returning from a patrol in a fortified vehicle known as a Viking when it drove over an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
The huge blast ripped through the vehicle, severely injuring the 28-year-old.
Miraculously he survived, but suffered six fractures and a dislocation to his right foot and more than three years later is still receiving treatment.
As a result, he enlisted for a pioneering rehabilitation scheme run by the Army Sub Aqua Diving Association (ASADA), which trains the military’s divers.
And now Brad is the recipient of a British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) Open Water Instructor’s qualification, making him one of only two who have reached the unlikely achievement through the programme.
The other is Brad’s close friend and dive buddy, Peter Wesley, who sustained complicated fractures to both of his legs during military training.
Both men have now been discharged from the Army on medical grounds.
Their achievements have been celebrated back at the BSAC headquarters where the physical and mental healing benefits of diving have been known about for a very long time.
Mary Tetley, the club’s chief executive, said: “Gaining your BSAC Open Water instructor qualification is an achievement in itself but to do so when battling a crippling injury which has had such a profound effect on your life is remarkable.
“I am so pleased for Brad and Peter and they are a great inspiration to all of our members.
“Diving is such a wonderful experience for so many reasons but some of the best ones have been echoed by Peter and Brad.”
Brad, who was a member of the Parachute Regiment, said: “The frustration, pain and worry which I was feeling after being injured took me to a low point in my life because when you have been used to being fit and active and part of a very close-knit team, and suddenly that is taken away and you feel your Army career is probably finished, it feels devastating.
“But the diving gave me some confidence and everything I was worried about on the surface, disappeared when I got to the bottom. All I had to concentrate on was where I was going and where my buddy was and, being a new experience to me, it meant I was learning something new every time I got in the water.
“It just allowed me to leave behind those worries I had about my injury and what the future held.”
“It had never even crossed my mind to try diving before. If I am honest, I was a bit wary of the idea of breathing underwater, but in the end I became really focused on taking it forward and learning.”


Read More Wounded soldiers fight back with new scuba diving careers - Wales News - News - WalesOnline
 
SCUBA is a great healer and offers excellent therapy for the veterans. Some doctors at the VA hospitals the Disabled Veterans SCUBA Project serves are recommending SCUBA diving to their patients. Offering both physological as well as physical benifits to the veterans. One veteran, suffering from diabieties and scheduled for bariatic surgery was removed from the surgery list after taking SCUBA while the doctors take a "lets see how he does as he has lost 40 pounds SCUBA diving attitude".

There are several orginazations here in the United States serving our veterans with SCUBA instruction including but not limited to:
Disabled Veterans SCUBA Project - Southern California (Los Angeles VA, Long Beach VA and Loma Linda VA)
Underwater Warriors Foundation - Ft. Campbell Ky
Soldiers Undertaking Diving (SUDS) Bethesda Maryland
CUFSF - Albecurque NM
Dive Heart -Illonios
there is also a program in Ft. Lewis and in Florida

Videos from our SoCalifornia Class. The documentary is excellent and shows why we do what we do.
Subject
Website
Los Alamitos Class 002 Quadriplegic & 2x Amputee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Szg16AB5YU
Orange County Local News DVSP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpDQlrdDKDY
Mel Pasley why I started DVSP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb2WiEMEpI4&feature=related
Graduates of Los Alamitos Class 001 What SCUBA did for them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAQF81Oc_ak
Kelly's Story, Paraplegic Diver speaks about diving
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q11mC3iTnh8&feature=related
Above Videos by Richard Tregaskes
28 Feb 2011 LA Times Article Discover SCUBA H.S.A. Training
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-scuba-disabled-20110228,0,1341754.story
Alex (class 002) in Cozumel 2011 with Dive Heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC6YvcEaJJ8&feature=player_embedded
Documentary
"Bullets to Bubbles" by Debra Hill MD Aug 2011
http://ch39.saddleback.edu/Cablecast/Public/Show.aspx?ChannelID=1&ShowID=821
 
It is great to see so many people trying to help these patriots get some of their life back. I am one of the many volunteers with the Monterey Bay Veterans working to develop their Freedom Dive Program. They are converting the MV Freedom, a Pacifica 50 sports fisherman, with a Nitrox system and a swim platform that moves from deck level to 4' underwater that can support two divers at a time. RIX Industries donated a new non-lubricated HP compressor to the group in September.

Frank Degnan, author of A Guide to Scuba Instruction for Divers with Special Needs, is also working with them to make the boat as usable by disabled veteran divers as possible. They trained David Riley, a quad amputee, the National Disabled Veteran of the Year.

 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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