While growing up I had two lifelong goals: become a diver and join the military to be part of the elite Special Operations Forces. I became a certified diver in 1994, when a close friend convinced me to plunge into Louisiana’s lakes with him, and I joined the U.S. Army a year later.
I had an amazing career with the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Throughout my service I carried a passion for diving and bringing others to the sport. Diving was a way for me to relax and find peace outside of our missions. Little did I know then how much more important diving would become for me.
In 2013 I was wounded in combat in Afghanistan, nearly losing my left leg. Despite being told that rehabilitation of the leg would be impossible, I argued with the doctors to save it.
My leg was successfully rebuilt but with a significant loss of nerve sensation — a small price to pay from having it literally obliterated by heavy machine gun fire. After more than 50 surgeries, twice-daily IVs for a year, and fighting off various infections, the doctor issued a stern warning: If anything else happened to my left leg, it would be beyond repair.
My career shifted to being a dive professional, a certified mixed-gas commercial diver, and a public safety instructor. The underwater world I loved became my new world full time.
I was recently asked to help a young mind form a deeper understanding of diving when a new diver signed up for my advanced diver program, which is designed for skills development and increasing breadth of dive experience. He wanted to do the training in Bonaire, a location I was well familiar with. We conducted multiple dives over the course of a week, with each dive increasing in complexity to ensure he was gaining experience.
On the final day of diving we went north to the Karpata dive site, where it can be a bit tricky entering and exiting the water. You must walk by a large square stone at the site, where occasional crashing waves may increase the risk of losing your balance.
We pulled up to the dive site marker, discussed the plan, and prepared for the dive. The weather and water conditions caused me to change my normal exposure protection. I wore shorts and a rash guard with a pair of low-top reef boots instead of my usual 3 mm wetsuit and thick zip-up boots.
After entering the water near the concrete block, we floated out past it before donning our fins. We placed a marker on our starting point next to the reef at 20 feet (6 meters) to easily identify our end point for turning to swim to the beach and exiting. Then we descended over the wall and enjoyed an amazing hourlong dive before swimming back along the return azimuth and exiting next to the entry point as planned.
As we tried to make our way out of the water, waves were crashing into the block and pushing us toward it. Balancing was difficult, but we got our feet down and began walking out. We saw another pair of divers trying to finish their dive, and my student began assisting one of them with her exit. I made my way toward the water’s edge to help the woman’s dive buddy, who was also having difficulty getting out of the water.
Then a wave hit me square in the back and knocked me forward, pushing my left foot directly into a pocket in the coral, injuring my left leg. The pain was minimal, and it felt like I had twisted my ankle, just as I had many times before. I shrugged it off as we finished our trip.
After I was home a few days, my left ankle began to swell and hurt, which alarmed me since it was no longer behaving like any sprain I had ever experienced. Due to the lasting effects of my injury from more than a decade ago, I still have dry skin and scabbing issues with the leg, so I thought it was simply acting up again and that I would be fine with a little rest.
Early one morning, however, I felt a release of pressure in the ankle. My sock was soaking wet. When I removed it I discovered an abscess was developing under the skin. I went to the doctor, figuring I would be in and out in a few hours.
It turns out the minor discomfort was a serious Vibrio infection, but I could not feel its full effects due to my previous injury. After being hospitalized for a week, I took antibiotics and antivirals for two weeks. In total, I was out of the water for about four months before finally being cleared to dive without restriction — that is a long time when diving is your way of life.
Experience is the most effective teacher, as the saying goes. While lying in the hospital bed I wondered about all the lessons learned. Exposure protection is always part of my plan, but this time I let the nice weather and water temperature dictate my decision of what to wear.
I failed to pay attention to the wildlife we were walking around and did not consider what I could not see. I shrugged off symptoms as being the result of a previous injury, not realizing that they might have a different cause. A simple, uncomplicated dive led to a serious infection that I was lucky to overcome, given my prior medical history.
This time I dodged a bullet, but it could have been much worse for me. Vibrio infections can lead to amputation, even in someone with a healthy limb.
Never dismiss a dive injury, even if it doesn’t seem serious. Just because the dive is over doesn’t mean the danger is.
© Alert Diver – Q1 2026