Dive Pirates take injured veteran to Cayman Brac

(Tampa Bay Times): Matt Richardson lives life from a mostly seated position, thanks to an encounter with friendly fire four years ago in Baghdad that left the infantry sergeant a quadriplegic. This summer, a group of diving enthusiasts got Richardson out of his wheelchair and into the crystal waters surrounding Cayman Brac, of the Caribbean's Cayman Islands family. For five days, Richardson made two dives a day, exploring a sunken Russian frigate, coral reefs and other under-water wonders. "It's probably one of the coolest things I've ever done," said Richardson, 25. "Being down there, it was amazing. I've seen stuff like that on TV, but never in real life." (Photo courtesy of Gardiner Henderson)

Richardson was one of eight people with significant physicalchallenges — including five former military members — treated to the weeklong excursion by Dive Pirates Foundation, a Houston-based nonprofit group promoting adaptive diving.

With the help of donations, fundraisers and membership dollars, the foundation covers the cost of training, certifying and equipping the recipients before taking them on the annual Cayman Brac diving trip. The group also outfits a buddy who accompanies each diver. In Richardson's case, he had three buddies with him on his dives.

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