Scubaism

This is the amazing story of Mark Chenoweth who has been strapped to a wheelchair for 10 years because spina bafida affected both his legs. But after a dive, was able to walk temporarily.

The deeper he gets, he says, the longer he is able to walk. After the first dive to 17 metres, he was able to walk unaided for three days.

After diving to 17 metres below the surface, Mark was brought to the boat.

As the instructors pulled him on board, he felt a bizarre sensation surging through his limbs. Shakily, he stood up—totally unaided for the first time since he was 12.

“I came out and I could feel my legs like I’d never felt them before,” Mark added. “They were actually working.

“The instructor couldn’t believe it. He’d seen me arrive in my wheelchair, and now I didn’t need it. I just stood up in the boat and shouted, ‘Look at this’.”

“I’ve found if I dive to 50 metres I can walk for about eight months.”At the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, where Mark has been treated over the last decade, doctors are baffled — as are colleagues worldwide.

Their only theory is that divers take in a richer mix of oxygen from their aqualungs than at ground level. That extra oxygen in Mark’s bloodstream might be having a temporary effect on the nerve cells.

“My case could have far-reaching implications,” Mark added. “If only someone knew WHY it happened.”