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Post by pinguinx on Oct 5, 2014 9:58:58 GMT -7
Hi everyone,
I am a below knee amputee and I'm going on holiday in November to Saint Lucia. The other people in my party would like to go snorkeling and are likely to want to spend a lot of time in the sea. I don't have a waterproof leg and wondered if anyone had any advice on what will be the easiest way for me to be able to snorkel with them?
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Post by cherylm on Oct 6, 2014 11:17:27 GMT -7
A couple of possibilities....the easiest--and most wonderfully free-feeling--is to go in without your prosthesis. In the water, it's so easy to forget about all the things an amputee normally needs to keep in mind! Beyond that, there are waterproof covers you can use on your prosthesis...I've never used one, but I've had friends tell me that they're fairly effective, although not meant for very long-term water activities. And I know a lot of amps who scuba dive without fear because the wetsuit protects their prosthesis.
By all means, get into the ocean...you'll have a fine time!
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Post by pinguinx on Oct 6, 2014 13:37:57 GMT -7
Thanks cherylm, if I ever swim I always take off the prosthesis and can swim with no problems at all so I would prefer to do that I'm just worried about leaving my leg unattended. I only have one comfortable prosthesis and I would be horrified if anything happened to it! I have also thought about using a waterproof cover but again I would be terrified of ruining this leg, I've had it since I was 14 (am now 25) and no one has ever been able to make one more comfortable!
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Post by cherylm on Oct 7, 2014 0:43:54 GMT -7
Well, I can understand that! Is there a possibility of someone keeping an eye on the prosthesis, or "checking" it somewhere? I know there are places where I want to wear my water leg but prefer to wear my normal leg to get there...if there's not a locker to store my regular leg, I've been known to just leave it at a desk with an employee, just so I know it's safe.
Best is if I can just wear the water leg and then have a safe place to leave it if the water's good for swimming!
A comfortable prosthesis is one of life's great pleasures! Good luck with finding a solution!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2014 9:08:58 GMT -7
I don't know much about being an amputee but I DO know a great deal about snorkeling, so let me help you out.
You do NOT want to take your prosthetic into the water with you. It throws off your balance and your sense of buoyancy, as its buoyancy will be completely different than normal tissue. I suggest leaving the limb in a safe place ashore and just using crutches to get to the boat.
Snorkeling does not depend on swimming skill, it depends on COMFORT in the water. You are in the water to look at the fish and coral. The LESS you move the MORE you will see. The quietest snorkelers see the most.
Just get in the water and move as gently and as quietly as you can
Most boats will put a floating line behind the boat (a tag line) for beginning snorkelers to hang on to. Ask for this.
Now, here is something a little different than the instruction I would give you if you were not an amputee. Do NOT breath normally through the snorkel, as you probably been told to.
Your lungs hold a large amount of air, maybe 8 to 14 pints. That air makes you very buoyant. When you breath normally, your lungs fill and empty in the usual rhythm, which causes your buoyancy to vary, from when your lungs are full to when they are empty and the full again. This doesn't bother a normal symmetrical person but since we amputees are asymmetrical, it causes a tendency for our bodies to roll.
Try this instead. Put your mask in the water and the snorkel in the air and exhale completely. Totally empty your lungs. Then inhale all the way and hold your breath.Then exhale all the way.
Exhale, inhale, hold, exhale, inhale, hold. This will keep you at maximum buoyancy --and highest in the water-- the entire time and will be much more comfortable for you. At the same time, when you are exhaling, learn to "POP!!" the air out of the snorkel rather than exhale gently. This pushes any water that may have seeped into the tube out again. Like a whale spouting.
If you move slow and modify your breathing to maintain buoyancy, you will find snorkeling a very pleasant experience.
Let me know how you do. I can send you pictures of me snorkeling this summer if you think it will help. Write or chat or skype me if you want more help or you have questions.
I have snorkeled alot this summer as an amputee as well as countless other times before I lost my right arm at the shoulder.
(I want to note parenthetically that the advice I gave about breath holding while snorkeling does NOT apply to SCUBA diving or diving from a hooka rig. Any time you breath compressed air, you must NEVER breath hold.)
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Post by pinguinx on Oct 16, 2014 11:54:44 GMT -7
Thanks for your reply Jill, I will definitely use your advice when I go, I wouldn't have even thought about the breathing but it makes sense! I'm looking forward to it now, it's good to know other amputees have had no problems
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