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In
late January 2006 a group of eighteen people embarked
on a dive trip to Divi Tiara Beach Resort in Cayman
Brac that would forever change their lives. One of the
Caribbean's top dive resorts, Divi Tiara has welcomed
thousands of divers over the years. What made this group
special was that five of the people in the group were
paralyzed and each was making this trip as part of a
dive therapy/disabled diver program for quadriplegics
and paraplegics.
The trip was put together by Englewood, Colorado's A-1
Scuba & Travel Center and Craig Hospital, which
is dedicated to providing care to patients with spinal
cord and traumatic brain injuries.
Although each diver had a different story to tell all
came to the resort with the same ultimate goal - to
experience the adventure and exhilaration of scuba diving
just as any other able-bodied person would. For Tom
Isaac, this trip was especially emotional. Nearly twenty-four
years ago he broke his neck bodysurfing and had not
been back into the ocean since. While on this trip to
Divi Tiara he became certified.
"The only limits we have are the limits we put
on ourselves. Some-body who's disabled can do anything
they can put their minds to."
Dave Farrell took this trip on the one year anniversary
of his injury. Speaking about scuba diving he said "it
gives me the joy that I got out of the other things
I did…I get back to the same kind of happiness
I had before."
For another member of the group, David Hosick, diving
gives him the ultimate freedom - "once you're in
the water, there's no issues of accessibility, there's
no longer steps to worry about."
While this group was particularly special to the staff
at Divi Tiara it is not the first group of disabled
divers the resort has hosted. Divi Tiara along with
its "sister" dive resort, Divi Flamingo Beach
Resort & Casino in Bonaire have been welcoming handicapped
divers for many years, and have developed strong ties
with the Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA).
Giving disabled travelers nearly unlimited access to
all resort facilities Divi Tiara and Divi Flamingo offer
handicapped-accessible guestrooms (fifteen at Divi Tiara
and eight at Divi Flamingo) with roll in showers or
tubs with handles and holdbars and doors wide enough
to accommodate wheelchairs, and ramps throughout the
resorts to the dive docks, bars, lobby/front desks,
beach areas, pools, restaurants and the patio at Divi
Tiara.
Additionally the resorts' on-site dive centers offer
wheelchair-accessible custom dive boats and the staff
are specially trained to accommodate disabled divers
and their particular needs. (CONTINUE...)
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