Beth Finds Physical Freedom through Scuba Diving

Born prematurely weighing just 2 ½ pounds, Beth spent her first five months in an incubator, fighting for her life.

“After that, I had to fight for everything,” Beth recalled.

As an individual living with cerebral palsy, Beth has experienced lifelong challenges related to movement and posture. Due to her physical limitations, she was often disregarded, belittled, and seen as incompetent. Her confidence plummeted when teachers told her she should drop out of school because she’d never amount to anything; she felt heartbreak when her siblings didn’t want to be seen with her.
Now at age 80, Beth has spent her life trying to prove people wrong by showing up for the life she knows she can have. She’s kept inspiration from her father—a man who only had one arm—always in her mind. “You can do it if you want to do it,” her father would tell her.

Beth’s father’s words motivated her to lead a life marked by generosity, despite challenges that have come her way. Over the years, Beth has taught Sunday school, helped families in her community with food and transportation, and knitted and crocheted baby blankets to donate to a local church. She raised her daughter as a single mom and was a caregiver for both her husband and her own mother before their deaths.

“It’s a pleasure for me to give more than to receive,” Beth shared.

Though her giving spirit hasn’t changed in her later years, ongoing health complications now prevent Beth from leaving her home to volunteer and attend church as much as she would like. When she had to give up her driver’s license, it was one of the hardest things she had ever experienced. With the loss of her license, a big piece of her freedom was taken away.

“People don’t always want to come and get me,” Beth said.

Having a body with restrictions, Beth has searched for opportunities to feel free again. In 2023, she experienced a new sense of freedom when she was given the opportunity to go scuba diving near her home in Oregon. Her occupational therapist assistant, Caitlin Nolan, at the Marquis Newberg rehab facility, helped facilitate the experience by connecting Beth to a company that specializes in helping people scuba dive with disabilities.

“Water heals me! I felt so free and calm!” Beth remembered.

Ever since that moment, she’s dreamed of getting back into the water and feeling that sense of physical freedom again. This time, though, Beth dreamed even bigger. Having never left her home state, she yearned to experience diving in an exciting, tropical setting.

Inspired by Beth’s courage and fortitude not to let her physical restrictions define her, Wish of a Lifetime was honored to help fulfill her wish. In September, we arranged for Beth and her companion, Elizabeth, a Physician Assistant from Beth’s former rehab facility, to travel to Honduras with Scuba Access for Everyone (S.A.F.E.), a nonprofit that helps people with limited abilities scuba dive.

Beth prepared for her trip by training with S.A.F.E. staff at Scuba Adventures for Everyone’s swimming pool in Hillsboro, Oregon; they took special care to ensure her dive mask was fitted properly.

Right away, Beth felt a sense of community among the other divers, the Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort staff, and her dive support team.

“Everybody was so friendly and welcoming to Beth,” her companion Elizabeth remembered. “It really made her feel part of something.” When not scuba diving, Beth got to enjoy two elegant dinners and relax at the beach or the pool at the resort where she stayed. Beth did a total of eight dives on the trip and surprised her team by going on two dives per day!

“I could live down there and be happy! It was peaceful in the ocean,” recalled Beth. “I saw an octopus, a snapping turtle, a baby sea horse and a jellyfish. It was amazing to see how different fish take care of the other fish.” Most importantly, Beth felt the physical freedom that she doesn’t often experience in her everyday life.

“For people like me who have different problems, when you get in the water, it puts your body into the state that it should be in,” Beth explained. “You relax, you don’t hurt, and you don’t have the pain or the agony that you are in all the time … the pain that people can’t see.”

After arriving home from Honduras, Beth shared that she hadn’t felt pain in her legs for several weeks. And the connections Beth made on the trip continue.

She is working with the Scuba Adventures for Everyone staff to find transportation so that she can be in the water more often. She bonded with another disabled scuba diver on the trip, with whom she hopes to continue a long-distance friendship.

Elizabeth also noticed how much the fulfillment of her wish has boosted Beth’s confidence. “It really made her feel better about herself, and that was powerful to see,” said Elizabeth. As Beth looks to the future, she’s now confident she can experience other adventures. “I just want to show people that anyone can do everything they want to in life.”