Soldier wounded in Iraq dives into new adventure [Video]

Great story!

Matt and Tracy Keil are exploring new adventures after a sniper’s bullet left Matt without the use of his arms and legs.

Keil is an Iraq War Veteran who nearly died in Iraq. His injuries left him a quadraplegic.

With his wife Tracy’s encouragement, Matt is facing his fear of the deep.

“I was nervous because I’m not sure how my regulator is going to work if my mask is going to fill up with water. Am I going to start choking on water?” said Keil.

Tracy is a certified diver. Now, she is hoping this could open up a new world for Matt.

“Always chair, couch, bed, shower, that’s it. So this is a nice opportunity for him to spend a little bit of time out of the chair,” said Tracy.

Matt’s volunteer helpers from Craig Hospital eased him around the shallow end of the pool.

One volunteer said it’s an amazing practice in trust. “Imagine you can’t move anything and somebody puts a regulator in your mouth, a mask on your face, and says ‘all right, we’re going to go underwater now,’ that’s trust.”

“Once I got comfortable it just seemed natural, it seemed fun. I was like, let’s go to the deep end right now! I’m ready, I’m ready for it,” said Keil.

“You’re floating in the water and doing something like this let’s you know even though you’re paralyzed and disabled, you can still go out and scuba dive. You can do anything,” said Keil.

Watch this story: Soldier Wounded In Iraq Dives Into New Adventure

Man literally fights off shark to save friend

Plunging a knife in again and again, diver Craig Clasen grapples with a 12ft tiger shark to protect a friend.

For two hours he wrestled with the giant, spearing it seven times, even drowning the beast before eventually finishing it off with a knife.

The group were about to leave the deep waters south of the Mississippi River’s mouth, when Ryan McInnis found himself alone in the company of a tiger shark.

With no time to lose, Clasen grabbed his speargun and swam to his stranded friend, who was being circled by the giant predator.

‘I positioned myself between Ryan and the shark and I tried to watch it for a second, hoping it would pass us by,’ explained 32-year-old Clasen.

‘The shark made a roll and looked like it was going to charge us so I just went ahead and took the conservative route and put a shaft through its gills.

Clasen has been free diving and fishing since an early age. Hailing from Mississippi, he was brought up in a fishing family, and is an expert in all fishing disciplines. Despite his experience, Clasen took no pleasure in disposing of the giant shark.

‘This was one of the most remorseful moments I have ever had in all of my years in hunting, gathering and fishing,’ explains Clasen.

‘Personally I never shoot anything or kill anything that I am not going to eat.’

 

Read more and see more pictures:Pictured: The moment a diver grappled with a 12ft tiger shark to save a friend
  

 

 

 

Wheelchair athlete featured on Cheerios box [Video]

This guy has the best attitude. You should watch the video.

Former Marine and wheelchair athlete Jake Hipps is among twelve athletes now featured on Cheerios boxes.

Hipps autographed dozens of Cheerios boxes for fellow vets and his co-workers at the Buffalo VA Hospital.

Hipps, a Vietnam-era vet, lost his ability to walk after a shooting in 1994.  Shortly thereafter, Hipps began competing in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games.  He holds four national records in field events and won three gold medals and one silver medal at last year’s competition.

Hipps has also competed in skiing events, basketball, and bowling competitions.  He’s currently learning to SCUBA dive.

Read more and watch that story: Local Athlete Featured On Cheerios Box