Key Largo, Florida Trip with RIC and Diveheart

By Sara Koehnke

Recently Diveheart combined with Caring for Kids through the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for an unbelievable five day trip to the Keys. Participants Mallory Corrus, Matt Trigo, Kayla Blue,Mohammod Ouyoun, Maribel Melendez, and I (Sara Koehnke) enjoyed every second of scuba diving. The adventure started in Jules' Undersea Park where students were challenged by unusual visibility but intrigued by the underwater hotel. The rest of the dives welcomed the divers with four foot swells and a strong current, but that didn't stop anyone.Seeing a turtle on the drive out, we knew we were in for good luck.

The City of Washington was by far the favorite with visibility at hundreds of feet, and critters everywhere the eye could see! Nurse sharks, Christmas trees, angelfish, and lobster covered the entire wreck. "When we're underwater, we all become equals." Neal Michalik,RIC volunteer. Neal couldn't be closer to the truth. Each student demonstrated a strong sense of independence and rightfully earned their certification. Those who were already certified earned a few dives toward the next level of certification.

The participants thoroughly enjoyed the sunset cruise where we not only watched the sunset, but visited a boat drive-thru restaurant to eat most delicious key lime pie covered in mandarin oranges and whipped cream. While eating key lime pie, we saw a shark chase a school of fish.

The six participants spent one day swimming with dolphins. The dolphins pushed their beaks on our feet to push us around the pool. They jumped through hoops and over poles, and danced while we sang. The entire experience was out of this world!

Everyone treasured the experience. Maribel Melendez beamed, "I loved this trip! Diveheart showed me that I can do things I never imagined were possible." The trip certainly was an exceptional treat. From the men working together to prevent the boat from drifting on our little adventure to swimming with dolphins, every second kept us on our toes.

At the banquet, everyone admitted to the difficulty in the closing of the trip. Participants gave their buddies hand-made bracelets with a word they picked out to describe their buddy or what they had done for them during the trip. The buddies returned with gifts of their own including a digital photo keychain filled with snapshots of the trip.

Another success under Diveheart's belt! Congratulations to all of the volunteers from RIC and Diveheart for a phenomenal vacation. Florida was a dream come true. Disabled or able-bodied, in the water we all become the same. Thank you, Diveheart, for reminding us that disabilities are not limitations, but opportunities to experiment and find out how much we truly are capable of.