When I started out on my travels 7 month ago I really didn’t think that by the time I returned home to England I would have progressed with my PADI learning. There was obviously something in the water!
Having just completed my Divemaster course I was excited to look for work in my native Cornwall as well as other, more tropical destinations. And then Georgia asked if I wanted to take part in the Deptherapy course. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it sounded great and would certainly open more doors in terms of my career.
Deptherapy is a revolutionary approach to rehabilitation, whereby you take individuals with different abilities into confined/open water. You can take a paraplegic, or someone with spinal injuries or someone who has lost a limb(s), through the open water course. They gain their certification, confidence and perhaps another lease of life. We were shown a film called The Current and I was sold. From Help A Hero.org: ‘The Current’ film reflects the bonds of friendship experienced through participation in adaptive sports, ultimately revealing the power of the human spirit, and the importance of protecting and conserving the ocean, while discovering and embracing its healing potential.
This film was so inspiring that it was at this point I knew I wanted to get involved and reach out to my local veterans, individuals who have been involved in accidents and those with learning difficulties.
But there was a problem. I could complete this course, take all I did away with me, but as a Divemaster I could only ever assist. I had to do my IDC. For me there was no point in this course without being able to take people out myself.
I signed up and within a week the course started.
DAY 1 – Course Orientation & Teaching Tools
In the classroom with Georgia it started sinking in that this was not going to be a walk in the park, however throughout the first day she encouraged me at every turn and reminded me that nothing is too much.
Like all PADI courses it has been broken down so well, not too much sitting in a classroom, lots of pool sessions and hands on learning. The first day was a nice run through of what to expect on my course and most importantly what PADI expects of its instructors and what an instructor should be like. It’s very much an attitude vs knowledge thing. Whilst you want to have all the knowledge attitude can be everything.
After orientation we had a look at the general standards and procedures, ensuring i know exactly where to find things and started to look at teaching methods and presentations, all with video aids.
After watching some media on some Open Water skills; brief, demo and debrief it was the end of the day. The first day was done. still enthused and with some nice practical homework to prepare.