Having had miserable weather last winter in Ontario, Canada, Bob and Wanda Russell were really looking forward to their scuba diving holiday in the Honduras Bay Islands. However, when Wanda broke her ankle in three places, their holiday was looking uncertain. Here Bob Russell describes how help came from an unlikely source…

“We have been scuba diving for about 15 years and had booked a two week vacation to the Honduras Bay Islands for the last week of January and first week of February 2008.  Just before Christmas, Wanda slipped and fell on the ice breaking her ankle in three places which required surgery involving a metal plate and several pins.  She was then confined to a wheelchair while wearing her first plastercast and advanced to crutches with her second.

Before our holiday, Wanda’s orthopaedic surgeon deemed her ankle stable enough to be fitted with an Aircast Walker, but she was still to use crutches and sometimes a cane.  By this time we had planned to take the holiday even if Wanda could not dive because last winter was so miserable in the Kingston area of Ontario. 

Fortunately, Wanda’s surgeon a former recreational diver himself, agreed that a well organised, conservative dive plan with the ankle supported in the Aircast was possible.  The greatest risk was the boat travel should the seas be rough and great care had to be taken for dive entries and exits. 

Wanda’s gear and the Aircast were donned on the swim deck for an easy seated entry into the water.  On exit, her gear was removed in the water and passed up to the deckhands and then other divers assisted her up the ladder, into the boat and back to a secure seat.  As a Padi Instructor, I planned our dives to 60ft or less, usually directly under the boat.  Although there were some days when Wanda had to miss dives due to rough water conditions, she did manage to have 11 dives during our vacation. And extraordinarily, although heavier than a fin, the Aircast was almost perfectly neutrally buoyant!

Our thanks go to Miles White, DJO’s General Manager in Canada, who generously supplied us with an additional liner for the Aircast which we used in the water, saving the original for dry land use.