Disabled divers make return trip to Cayan
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from April 1991.
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For a 180-pound 13-year old boy with ambitions of playing football, his dreams were shattered and a whole new way of life was about to begin.
In 1986, Lenny was determined to take scuba diving classes. He had difficulty finding an instructor in the Houston area who would teach a paraplegic, but searched until his goal was achieved. He met Steve Bain who looked at the opportunity as a learning experience not only for Lenny, but for himself. A deal was struck -- if Lenny would help Steve learn to teach disabled persons to dive, Steve would certainly teach Lenny and his friends the basic open water course. In that first open water class were Lenny and two wheelchair friends. Once again, Lenny's life took a new, but this time, very positive direction.
Lenny founded Houston Disabled Scuba Divers Association (HDSDA) for the Spinal Cord Injured after completion of his scuba certification course. The primary objective of the club is to establish an organization to meet the needs of the diver confined to a wheelchair, and to have a communications network to disseminate information to it's members about diving destinations and group trips to participate in.
When members of HDSDA travelled to Grand Cayman in 1989 and stayed at Coconut Harbour, diving with Quabbin Dive, they were mesmerised by the clarity and warmth of Cayman waters and subsequently planned a 1991 trip.
Thursday, 11 April saw nine club members, plus an instructor and divemaster to assist them arrive on Grand Cayman, anxious for diving on Friday and Saturday.
This remarkable group of people comprised of five divers in wheelchairs: Lenny Hulsebosch, Dave Whiteley, Gary Carpenter, Joe Hallmark and Corwyn Abraham. Both Corwyn and Joe are quadraplegics; Joe was doing his open water certification dives under the guidance of Mark Conrad, a NAUI instructor who has become very active in teaching disabled divers and has taken over the instruction aspect when Lenny's instructor, Steve Bain, moved on to other things. Curtis Colliers is a non-diving member of the club, but come for the snorkelling, sunshine and comradery.
Brenda Hallmark, Joe's wife, is an "able"bodied" person who took her certification classes recently; for her, diving in Grand Cayman was her first ocean experience. Rounding out the group were Patricia Rae, an "able-bodied" diver who helps Mark with classes and is secretary of HDSDA, and Chuck Boy, a NAUI divemaster and personal friend of Corwyn's. Through his friendship with Corwyn, both Chuck and his wife Susan have become involved with HDSDA.
While diving off, the group was treated to four shallow dives -- Hammerhead Hole, the Oro Verde, Aquarium South and Devil's Grotto. The big Nassau groupers were home at the Oro Verde and stayed with the divers for the gentle stroking and tickling the fish have come to expect from divers. The pillar coral at Aquarium South was photographed many times, as well as the abundance of fish at this site. Devil's Grotto was navigated well by the divers, and the appearance of several tarpon in the grottos made it a terrific last dive for the group.
Several members of the group have travelled to other diving destinations, including Florida, Belize, Hawaii, the Bahamas and the Gulf of Mexico. The club has an ever-growing membership, thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of Lenny and its members. There are annual club dues to pay, plus money is acquired by fundraising activities during the year. Certification classes for interested disabled persons are paid or by the club, as Lenny is certain that the person is going to love diving as much as he does.
A library of reference books is being gathered by the club for member use. Barbara Levy and Ed Powers, owners of the Book Nook, donated Reef Fish Identification by Paul Humann to the Library, as well as providing an underwater fish I.D. card for each member.
Club member Corwyn Abraham broke two vertebrae in his neck when he dove into a lake in 1967 at the age of 17. He was able to move back to shallower water, using limited movements of his arms only, but then passed out underwater. After the accident, he spent time thinking about his situation, trying to determine what God had let this happen to him. Corwyn has turned his outlook around and seeks the positive aspect of everyday life.
He works in Galveston, Texas, for a large corporation designing custom computer software, has an oceanview window, and now finds tranquility, rather than strife, in the water. After viewing a video of Lenny and the HDSDA members on the 1989 trip to Grand Cayman, Corwyn said "that's for me!". So strong is the camaraderie Lenny has worked hard to develop in the club, Gary Carpenter live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, about 200 miles east of Houston, and drives to Houston for the monthly meetings. This was Gary's first trip to Grand Cayman. Quabbin boat captain John Gurganus and divemasters Susan Young and Todd Craig learned much from their opportunity to show the group the quality of diving in Cayman waters. A positive outlook on life, is a common demoninator each of HDSDA members and Mark and Chuck share. They talk of things they can do, rather than things they cannot do.
Lenny said that for disabled persons to learn to dive is a great confidence builder, and urges spinal cord injured persons to "get out of their chairs and come into this environment (the water) where you don't need a wheelchair. You can move around freely without barriers - it is like you belong there. The wheelchair is non-existent in planet ocean.
