John

John Wade – SCI Australia Ambassador

In January 2004, John Wade, a veteran scuba diver with forty years experience and a Dive Master certificate, was looking forward to an enjoyable day’s diving with his wife Emmie, and some close friends.  They took a short boat trip out from Durras Beach on the NSW south coast, heading for a popular reef in about 30 metres of water. The depth wasn’t a problem for John but it was pushing the limit for his wife and her inexperienced companion. Matters were made worse by a strong, swirling current and very poor visibility, which prompted Emmie to insist on an early return to the boat. If John had followed accepted procedure and calculated the amount of time he could spend in deep water during his second dive there would have been no serious consequences.

Unfortunately he didn’t, and the consequences were tragic. He ignored the accepted safety precautions during a dive with two novices, believing his many years of experience would see him through. While he ensured the two inexperienced divers survived a day of treacherous conditions, he failed to monitor his own time on the ocean floor and suffered an attack of ‘the bends’.  Despite later treatment in a special recompression chamber, a small bubble of nitrogen lodged against his spinal cord just below the shoulder blades, rendering him a paraplegic. John’s message is now straight to the point:

“I didn’t even bother to look at the regulation timetables which tell you how much time you can safely spend at which depth. Because I had done it so often I assumed I was within the acceptable limits – but I was wrong,” John said.

“As a result I lost the normal use of my legs, for life. For me, one act of complacency was enough to change my life, and the lives of everyone around me, forever”, he said.

At the time John was not long retired and he and wife Emmie were planning a wonderful new life together, touring Australia in a four-wheel-drive enjoying popular scuba diving sites all around the coastline.
Although doctors initially insisted that he would never walk again, John proved them wrong with a determined program of physiotherapy and special exercises.  He now negotiates short distances with a walking stick and uses a wheelchair for longer periods when required. Like the majority of spinal cord injury patients he suffers a wide variety of problems caused by the extensive neurological damage.
However, John is justifiably proud of his remarkable recovery and just as proud of his role as an ambassador.

“I welcome the opportunity to get out into the workplace and spread the message about obeying the rules and doing things the safe way. I’m more than happy to use my experience as an example and convince people not to be complacent or take shortcuts in the way they go about their work – it’s just not worth the risk”, John said.