By Jim Elliott
In December 2021, I had no idea the documentary Adapting to Dive that film maker David Marsh was making about Diveheart would be an international award-winning film.
I had no idea that our first adaptive dive trip after COVID would be a game changer in the world of adaptive scuba.
I had no idea that I personally would sponsor David to film ten more Diveheart adaptive scuba trips including last year’s 2023 Mayo Clinic annual conference in Cozumel, Mexico, where Diveheart, the world leader in adaptive scuba, was invited to present to physicians and medical researchers from around the world on the benefits of Scuba Therapy.
My personal investment in bringing the filmmaker on additional trips paid off in spades. We asked David to create profiles on our “adaptive divers” (divers with disabilities). Because after filming the documentary we understood that David knew Diveheart’s heart and mind, mission and vision, better than any other film maker in the world. David was able to create amazing and inspiring profiles on adaptive divers with ALS like Tracy, and divers on the autism spectrum like Naperville resident Kristina.
The filmmaker also captured the hearts of veterans with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ) and their continued devotion and service to their brothers and sisters with disabilities. David was able to dive into the story and daily challenges of Chris and Amber, both from the Chicagoland area and both with acquired spinal cord injuries.
David’s work ethic is amazing. He’s always editing video when he’s not on the deck interviewing divers like Matt and Karen who both suffer from muscular dystrophy or Bob Martin from Wisconsin who has an acquired traumatic brain injury from a snow mobile accident. The love and caring of Bob’s sister Debbie is inspirational.
Since I started teaching scuba diving to individuals with disabilities in 1997, I’ve always known that adaptive scuba was therapeutic, which is why Diveheart started working with university medical centers worldwide.
Since 2021, Filmmaker David Marsh has helped Diveheart articulate and present stories of hope and healing that have inspired people of all abilities worldwide. Diveheart is now leveraging David’s work to inspire people internationally to help support the Diveheart vision to build the Deepest Therapy in the world.
We hope you’ll share this story with others.
Learn more about Diveheart at https://www.diveheart.org/.