I became a certified diver in 1993 to be a dive buddy for my son. Initially, I was certified through PADI. In 1998 I went through and got my Dive Master certification. Then In 2004, I started diving with Extreme Sports Scuba and Deb and Grady. My first trip with them was to Mermet Springs. In 2011 I went through the courses with Deb and Grady and got my SDI Dive Master certification.
Then… Came the dreaded doctor visit.
When the doctor gives you the long face and tells you that you are going to have to give up diving, it’s hard in many ways. I took the doctor’s word for it, sold my dive gear, and resigned myself to live without diving. Grady and Deb both saw how much that hurt.
Then the next few doctor’s checkups came and they found I had a tick problem. That dreaded tick problem that has made news rather recently. It has something to do with a tick biting you and giving you allergic reactions to things, for a simple description. They said some things would get better. That included the fact that I would be able to dive again.
I’m still not as strong as I want to be, but I’m able to dive and work with students. In 2016, I went through the assistant dive instructor classes to become an Assistant Dive Instructor for Extreme Sports scuba. Seeing the look on the students face and helping them through problems is worth it all.
They say that diving has no age limit and I would agree with that. It’s great to be back into the diving community.