[Pasley]

In Southern California The Disabled Veterans SCUBA Project will be hosting a Discover SCUBA event for those interested, veteran or not. Pre-registration is required and a medical clearance as well. The Discover SCUBA will involve a brief class and then a SCUBA dive in a pool with an instructor. Registration including medical release must be received not later than 07 March 2010.

This is your opportunity (Veterans or not) to try SCUBA diving at no charge if you have one or more of the following conditions :Paralysis, blind, amputee, MS, or autism. If after trying SCUBA diving you decide you would like to get certified and you are a veteran we can refer you to the Disabled Veterans SCUBA Project a 501©(3) organization. If you are not a veterans we will refer you to Handicapped SCUBA Association trained instructors in the area. The Pool is in Los Alamitos on the boarder of Los Angeles and Orange County just off the 605/405/22 Freeways. For a copy of the pre-registration and medical forms, please contact the Disabled Veterans SCUBA Project at president@DisabledVeteransScbuaProject.org or visit our website at DisabledVeteransScubaProject.org or Call me Melvin Pasley at 562-421-3094

This post has been edited by Pasley: 15 January 2010 - 12:17 AM

[MxDisasterGrl]

Pasley, on Jan 14 2010, 06:07 PM, said:

In Southern California The Disabled Veterans SCUBA Project will be hosting a Discover SCUBA event for those interested, veteran or not. Pre-registration is required and a medical clearance as well. The Discover SCUBA will involve a brief class and then a SCUBA dive in a pool with an instructor. Registration including medical release must be received not later than 07 March 2010.

This is your opportunity (Veterans or not) to try SCUBA diving at no charge if you have one or more of the following conditions :Paralysis, blind, amputee, MS, or autism. If after trying SCUBA diving you decide you would like to get certified and you are a veteran we can refer you to the Disabled Veterans SCUBA Project a 501©(3) organization. If you are not a veterans we will refer you to Handicapped SCUBA Association trained instructors in the area. The Pool is in Los Alamitos on the boarder of Los Angeles and Orange County just off the 605/405/22 Freeways. For a copy of the pre-registration and medical forms, please contact the Disabled Veterans SCUBA Project at president@DisabledVeteransScbuaProject.org or visit our website at DisabledVeteransScubaProject.org or Call me Melvin Pasley at 562-421-3094

Sounds like a blast! I scuba dived before my accident, but never was certified. If you were a little closer i would be all over it!!! Plus i'm a vet

[twisted_ophelia]

I am a certified scuba diver and you can read about my cert experiences (all post SCI) on my blog http://mimimachine.blogpost.com Scuba is amazing and one of those things that just about anyone can do. I have heard of high level quads diving with assistance. I'm working on turning my experiences with certification into a documentary film but with so many other things going on, this project is kind of on the back burner!

[Pasley]

twisted_ophelia
You are quite correct, most people can SCUBA dive including a person with total quadriplegia as long as they can communicate yes or no and can breathe without obstruction. Matt (the wonder boy)Johnson dove and he was on a respirator! Diving is an amazing experience and good for the body and soul. I dove last February with a Canadian with paraplegia who came down to Los Angeles for some diving. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperative and we only got in one dive. I had a lot of fun.

MxDisasterGrl
Hmmm, got to find you someone local who is HSA certified, or else I will have to take a road trip to visit my brother just south of Texarkana (near Atlanta TX) just up the road a piece from you. You of course would have to find a pool (8 feet or deeper) and then we would need an ocean or lake (ocean is better). Road trip! You might want to investigate signing up for some warm water diving with http://www.Diveheart.org they go to warm water places and train you to SCUBA dive. Jim Elliott is a great guy running a first class organization. Ever thought about coming to California for a week of fun in the sun. We could start you with the books at home, then do the pool work when you get here and get you certified in about a week. Notice I said about, could be less or more as we train to standard not time and we do insist on hours and hours of pool time to ensure you are competent before we hit the ocean. The is an HSA qualified instructor in a dive shop in the warm waters of Florida too. So many options. You could even visit the http://www.eels.org in nearby Texas and take lessons there. You need a vacation sometime and learning to SCUBA is not a bad vacation.