Paralyzed Teen Discovers Freedom in Scuba Diving

Every scuba diver has a story of the first time they discovered the freedom of the underwater world on SCUBA.

But this young man's story is truly an inspiration.

Slicing his cupped hands through the chilly water to propel himself forward, John Harris made his way to the submerged platforms at Whitestar Quarry.

He checked the depth on his gauges, flooded his mask and cleared out the water, and took out the mouthpiece of his regulator as a demonstration of how he would share air.

It was a typical lesson for those learning how to scuba dive. But the smile that spread across his face as he floated on his back in the water after the first of his four certification dives showed something very different.
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Despite being paralyzed in a dirt-bike crash not quite a year ago, the 17-year-old Petersburg, Mich., resident was now one stroke closer to being a certified scuba diver.

"I used to swim all the time," he said after he and his sister, Ashley, finished their first open-water dive. "I never thought it would be fun but it is. I like being free in the water."

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