C9

By Melanie Dabovich
The Associated Press

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RIO RANCHO, N.M. - Jim Hay knows a thing or two about adventure and he certainly isn't one to shy away from a challenge.

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The Associated Press

GOOD EXERCISE: Cody Unser, left, talks with disabled Army veteran Jim Hay poolside at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. The Diveheart Foundation and Cody Unser First Step Foundation together offered disabled veterans the opportunity to scuba dive at the center recently.

So he was more than ready to pull on a wet suit, strap on a tank, gear and goggles and head into the deep end of the pool during a scuba diving excursion at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center.

"You are really flying underwater. It's an amazing feeling," said Hay, a Vietnam veteran from Albuquerque. "It wasn't really scary, it was more exciting. It is just relaxing, fun and it's totally awesome."

Hay is like any other diver experiencing the weightlessness and tranquility of the sport. But for him, the underwater freedom is much more precious.

For more than 20 years Hay has been a paraplegic, dependent on his wheelchair for more mobility. Underwater, he is able to move his legs and direct his movements with a little help from trained diving instructors.

"I'm free," he said, clearly enjoying the experience.

Hay, a member of Paralyzed Veterans of America's New Mexico chapter, was one of several paraplegic veterans who got a taste of scuba diving during a training held recently by the Cody Unser First Step Foundation.

The Albuquerque-based foundation is the creation of Cody Unser, daughter of two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Al Unser Jr. and granddaughter of four-time Indy winner Al Unser Sr. At the age of 12, Cody was paralyzed from the chest down due to a rare immune system attack on her spinal cord, known as transverse myelitis.

She got the idea for Operation Deep Down, the foundation's military dive program, after earning her diving certification. "Once I did it ... it became clear to me that I wanted to give this gift (of scuba diving) to anybody who's paralyzed," said Unser, now 21 and a senior at the University of Redlands in California.

Scuba diving is catching the attention of medical experts for the physical benefits it can have for people with disabilities. Some say diving could even lead to breakthroughs in the way doctors treat people with brain and spinal cord injuries.

At the pool, wheelchairs sit empty as instructors use a mix of humour, seriousness and patience to help the divers learn scuba basics and prepare for the day's ultimate goal - touching the bottom of the 3.6-metre pool.

To get started, the divers are lifted from their wheelchairs and placed on the pool deck. Instructors carefully dress them in wet suits and fit them with neoprene boots before carrying them into the water. Next come the vests, tanks, goggles and flippers.

"Is this where you get me all dressed up and then I have to go the bathroom?" jokes veteran Terry Conger, preparing for his first dive. Multiple sclerosis has left Conger disabled from the waist down.

Former physical therapist and scuba course director Scott Taylor has been taking disabled patients to his A-1 Scuba shop in Englewood, Colo., for several years.

Diving allows weak muscles to move freely underwater.

"If you're a quadriplegic confined to an electric wheelchair, you don't have strong arm muscles but you might still have some muscles in your shoulder and wrists that are still functioning," said Taylor. "Underwater, all of the sudden, you might be able to move your arm forward or backward and propel underwater."

Such movement can help people with paralysis improve circulation, oxygenate tissues and increase lung capacity.