Amputee loves diving after taking the plunge
KUALA TERENGGANU:
Ahmad Nazri Hamzah may have lost a limb at a young age but he is bent on living life to the fullest.
The 28-year-old cancer survivor has scaled Mount Kinabalu and represented Malaysia in wheelchair basketball at the recent Asian Para Games in Jakarta but even he balked at the idea of scuba diving.
“A few of my friends were interested in it and they tried to influence me but I was quite doubtful as an amputee,” said Ahmad Nazri, who lost half his right leg to bone cancer when he was 14.
Some 10 years later, the same leg had to be amputated at the hip after this became infected following a sports injury.
However, the multiple amputations have not diminished his zest for life and despite his initial hesitation, taking the plunge into the watery depths was one of the best decisions Ahmad Nazri has made.
Last week, he joined other people with disabilities for their first open water adventure at the Dive Heart 2018 Programme with Universiti Malaysia Terengganu in Pulau Bidong here.
Ahmad Nazri said he first learned the techniques from Dive Heart Malaysia head Syed Abd Rahman Syed Hassan at a facility in Kajang.
“He never failed to encourage and motivate me when I thought I couldn’t do it,” he said.
The corals and other marine life were a sight to behold for the beginner diver, who described it as “definitely more exciting” than the plain
walls of the training pool.
But it was the freedom of underwater movement that sealed Ahmad Nazri’s love for scuba diving.
“It gives me confidence and it feels good to know that we are all equals under water,” he said.
Ahmad Nazri said he was now looking forward to more adventures, adding however that he had yet to muster up the courage to try out more extreme sports like sky diving.
“I will have to get over my fear of heights first,” he quipped.