Making Possibilities for Disabilities

"It’s the best way that I can honor Peter. I couldn’t make him better, couldn’t give him more morphine to ease his pain, couldn’t extend his life," said Jamie Schroder. "This is an excellent way to honor what he did as an instructor and with his career. He’d appreciate and approve of this."　 Jamie, who is a resident of McMurray, Pennsylvania, reached out to Diveheart earlier this month, as her husband Peter was losing his battle against cancer.　 Having learned of Diveheart and its work, Jamie decided that she would suggest it as the beneficiary to individuals wishing to make donations in Peter’s memory. Peter Schroder died on Wednesday, July 14 2010.

Jamie said that she is drawn to Diveheart because her husband was in fact a pioneer of adaptive diving.　 In 1982, Peter was a scuba instructor at the Norwalk YMCA, where a gentleman named John who was a paraplegic, was an avid swimmer.　 "His torso was very strong.　 He came up to Peter and said, ‘I want to learn how to scuba dive.’　 Rather than putting him off like many would have done, Peter took it on. He talked to John’s neurologist, and whoever else would have needed to be involved to get him cleared. He took him through two courses of dive training," she said. Peter then took a group including John, on a life-changing dive trip to Bonaire.

More than twenty-five years later, Jamie said she still remembers John’s joy from being part of this group of able-bodied people scuba diving.　 "I remember his face as he was helped back into the boat and into the hands of people waiting to help get his gear off," she said. "I remember the exuberance and joy on his face. And his laughter. It was incredible for me as a brand new diver."　 Jamie said that she had met Peter about a month before he started working with John. Peter’s responsiveness, kindness, and humility with John she said, absolutely had an impact on her. "I was awed by him anyway," she said. "This was something very special that he was doing but you’d never know about it from speaking to him. He would never blow his own horn."

Jamie said that she treasured having been part of the experience with John, and to have witnessed the man who would become her husband, make the adventure possible. "It was all incredible," she said. She later learned that John went on to develop a foundation supporting other individuals with disabilities.

When Jamie learned about Diveheart through the Dive Alert Network, she told Peter about its work. 　"I told him that I had learned about the organization, and how exciting it was that he was a pioneer doing the same thing, so many years ago," she said.

Peter’s love of scuba evolved from being a hobby, to a career. "Scuba diving opened the world to Peter and then led him to doing graduate research on coral and sponges, which then led to his career as an advisor to governments on managing their oceans and coastal resources," said Jamie. "Starting as a hobby, scuba diving became　a very　important part of his life. I like to think that all of us who took up scuba diving with him and attended his classes and went to Bonaire with him, continue to 　think of Peter as having given them the chance to learn something very unique," said Jamie.

Jamie decided that she wanted to create a legacy to Peter by helping to provide scuba diving opportunities for individuals with disabilities and wounded veterans. "Scuba diving opened up a different world to me. It gave me something wonderful to share with my husband. I met him through learning how to scuba dive and it remained a huge part of our lives together. It’s going to be entirely different now that he’s gone. I’ve become passionate about it through him," she said.　

Jim Elliott, president and founder of Diveheart was touched by Jamie’s generosity and thoughtfulness and impressed with Peter’s life. "He was unknowingly, the ideal of what Diveheart seeks to do. He was a pioneer in adaptive diving, and created a priceless opportunity for John," said Jim.　 "As compelling, is the fact that he is a role model.　 We are increasingly encouraging individuals with disabilities to turn their passion for scuba diving into related careers, much like Peter did. In creating this legacy for Peter, Jamie is also helping to ensure that individuals with disabilities have opportunities that Peter himself valued greatly. We are so honored that Jamie has reached out to us during this difficult time, in order to pay tribute to this great man."