Over the past year or so, we've been following the progress of Matthew Johnston, a 29-year old man from Woodbury, Minnesota. Suffering from muscular dystrophy and capable only of moving his thumbs, Johnston has been dreaming of diving in open water since he was 6 years old. To achieve that goal, this June he earned Card Number 1 through SDI's Scubility program, a course designed for disabled divers.
Finally, on November 14, Johnston achieved his goal and became the first ventilator dependent quadriplegic in the world to go scuba diving in open water. While diving in a shallow reef off Tavernier Key, Johnston made two dives: one dive to 4 feet for 15 minutes, and a second dive to 4 feet for 10 minutes where he was able to observe the coral reef.
Two days before his historic dive, I met Johnston at the DEMA show outside Ocean REEF's booth, which provided full face masks and communications equipment for Johnston and his dive team. He didn't seem nervous at all -- just excited. If you're interested in learning more about Johnston's story, check out Diving A Dream, the website dedicated to his diving efforts. Oddly, there isn't much there explaining his accomplishment from last month -- or our encounter?! -- but it's an excellent overview of his journey.
