I have always loved water sports. Luckily, I grew up on Lake Whitney. Before my accident, I was an avid water skier. After I lost my legs, my water skiing was adapted to knee boarding. Without legs for balance, knee boarding is as challenging as water skiing! I still swim daily even though I no longer have my legs with which to kick. My body changed but my love of the water did not.

When I heard about the Eels on Wheels SCUBA club, diving seemed like a natural next step. I signed up for the trip to Roatan and then set out to get certified. After a few phone calls, I found that I didn’t need an HSA certification, so I am certified by NAUI through a local dive shop.

While the diving during the training course was fun and challenging, it does not hold a candle to diving in the deep blue seas of the Caribbean! For the most part, I enjoy the same facets of diving as does a person with legs. The ocean and its life are calming and awe-inspiring. They can remind us of how small we are in the grand scheme of things. Diving is also an exciting adventure because it is uncertain which creature or formation will be experienced on any given outing. The technical aspects of diving lend a sense of accomplishment and independence. Some of the extras I personally enjoy are the freedom from my wheelchair and the absence of physical obstacles with which I deal daily on land. It is liberating to have only my body (and not the chair) to negotiate. In fact, I have the added advantage of being small enough to go where other divers might not fit! The athleticism offered by diving is also enjoyable. As anyone using a wheelchair knows, getting where we want to go is an athletic feat in itself but becomes second-nature over time. Diving is a way to exercise all of my body and all of my mind simultaneously. Diving is wonderful for the physically challenged and non-challenged alike!

The people in Eels on Wheels are equally great! It’s reassuring to meet other people with similar interests and the determination to make the best of a situation! It’s fun to swap stories and information! Everyone is helpful and appreciates that I prefer to do for myself when I can. They don’t pity me and I like that!

If you are looking to dive, socialize, and be a part of an awesome group of people, Eels is for you!!

I'm Gene.  I'm a bit of an explorer; I never get tired of trying or seeing new things.  I became a C-5 quadriplegic in 1972 as a result of a fall from a cliff.  C-5 means I broke my neck, I'm paralyzed in all 4 limbs, though I can move my arms a little but not my fingers.

A few years after I became disable I tried to learn scuba diving but was told I could never be certified because I could not clear a snorkel.  Friends took me snorkeling in the Florida Keys, but I never forgot about scuba.   Since I couldn't dive, I did the other normal things quads do:  sky diving, skiing, para-sailing, cliff climbing, trekking in the Himalayas, etc.  Then I heard about this program at St. David's Rehabilitation Center in Austin.  I heard they taught people with disabilities how to dive and then take them on dive trips.  Well, I called them up and spoke to a guy named Tim Skelly.  What a nut!..he told me to come down to St. David's and he would teach me to dive.  He said this without knowing anything about my disability.  Later, I learned Tim's philosophy is, "We can teach anyone with a disability to dive unless they convince us otherwise."  That was in 1996.  I got certified that year and have been diving ever since.  Thanks Tim.

I started diving using a regular wet suit.  Since then I got this custom made wet suit.  It has zippers on the arms and legs, making it much easier to get on and off.  The legs are 5mm (that just  means I stay warmer longer).  Email me grodgers@austin.rr.com,  and I'll tell you where to get one.  At first I used a regular mask, later I got prescription lenses for my mask.  Figuring buoyancy was difficult.  We eventually figured out I needed about 22 pounds of weight with a 3 pound ankle weight.  The weight belt kept slipping down my slender waist so Chad took another weight belt and looped it over my shoulder to hold up the weights from the back.

We needed a way to communicate underwater but how?  I couldn't use hand signals or even point.  After some trial and error we came up with a great solution.  I had one of my dive buddies, Mindy, write the words:  Fish, Coral, Wreck, Closer, ID, SPG, Compass, Cold, and Safety stop on a slate.  While diving, if I wanted to get Mindy's attention, I would grunt.  She would pull the slate around where we could both see it. I would look up and to the left if I wanted the top left word on the slate, down and left if I wanted the bottom left word, etc.  Then she would point at a word.  If it wasn¹t the word I wanted I shook my head no. Mindy was incredibly intuitive and rarely had to point to more than one word.  For example; if we were in area particularly rich in coral, I would grunt once.  Mindy pointed to the word "coral"  to verify that is what I wanted to see.  If I shook my head yes and grunted again Mindy pointed to the word "closer" to verify I wanted to get a very close view of the coral while at the same time, maintaining a safe distance to avoid damaging these delicate creatures.  If I appeared to find a particular coral fascinating I would grunt again. Mindy pointed to "ID" to verify I wanted her to identify the coral for me.  I shook my head yes and she turned the slate over to write down the name of the coral.  At the end of the day I had a slate full of names which I copied into my log book.

The first couple of dives, my dive buddies Mindy and Patsy would ask me if I was cold.  I always lied and shook my head no.  Since then I got a warmer wet suit.  Now, the only time I shake my head no is when they tell me it's time to surface. Feel free to visit me at www.GenosPlace.org