Born to Help: Kiel Brown

By Dan Barrett

Some people are born to help others. It is such a part of their being, it is almost an unconscious effort. Diveheart seems to have been blessed with countless such individuals. And blessed we were once again this summer with the addition of one more extraordinary heart, that belonging to a young man named Kiel Brown.

"I was born to help people,"Kiel says. "If it’s getting them into the water or getting something they can’t reach off of a shelf, I want to help."

The man born to help others, however, hasn’t had a very easy time of it himself. In March of 2000, while a junior in high school, Kiel was struck by a car. At the time, he was on his way to help plan an event for Air Force Junior ROTC. He had been planning a career as a firefighter and paramedic. The accident resulted in him spending the next five weeks in a coma. He had to re-learn a lot of communication skills and is still struggling to learn more seven years later. One thing that stayed with him, however, was the spirit to succeed.

"I think I do it [dive] to prove people wrong. I do it to show them I’m stronger than what they think," Kiel says. "I’ve been through a lot, but who hasn’t? Who has had a perfect life?"

Kiel first got the chance to dive when Diveheart began holding session at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital, where he was a patient. Diveheart president Jim Elliott offered Kiel the chance to go diving with Oceans for Youth in Little Cayman in June. Each year, Oceans for Youth introduces SCUBA diving to cognitively disabled young people from all over the country. While diving in Little Cayman, Kiel stayed at 40 feet for 56 minutes, not an easy task any diver will tell you.

"I was excited to get the chance to dive," Kiel says, "and I want to continue."

He did continue when in August Diveheart took a group of young people from the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education (ICRE) to Key Largo, Florida. He came along as a mentor to the other divers. "It was just good to help them in anyway I could," he says.

Kiel’s mother, Denise Brown, says she has seen wonderful changes in her son. "Just in his ability to stay focused on something and have something to talk about, Diveheart has been special for Kiel."

Kiel himself, however, sums up Diveheart’s mission better than anyone could in just a few simple words: "Diveheart is not telling people 'you can’t'."

When asked if there was anything he has really missed doing since his accident, Kiel simply shrugs off the question. "I don’t think about the past," he says. "I can’t do anything about it. I’m glad I’m getting to dive, and I’m glad I get a chance to help other people do it. I can’t say I’m happy the accident brought me here, but that’s just the way it is."

There is an interesting sideline to Kiel’s story. The event he was going to help plan at time of his accident was one where he was scheduled to receive a medal. It was a Purple Heart of the Military Order, which he was awarded for saving a choking victim in the school cafeteria. Imagine: 17 years old and able to summon the courage and composure to save a life. Regardless of how Kiel may seemingly have changed since his accident, nothing could quash this kind of spirit. When asked if there’s one thing he’d like people to learn from his story, Kiel simply says.

"I just want people to know that Diveheart and I are out there to help them. Some people have problems, but there are people like me and Jim [Elliott] that will help them."