Sean Prendeville crosses scuba diving off bucket list

DEEP WATER: Sean Prendeville enjoys his first dive.

Sean Prendeville, the boy his mother calls her "walking miracle" has ticked a major item off his bucket list by trying scuba diving, and in the process, discovered a peace and quiet he never knew existed.

With the help of Craig Hipson, from Dive Kapiti, Sean sat at the bottom of the Coastlands Aquatic Centre main pool, and felt for the first time since his arduous journey began in 2010, that he was just the same as anyone else.

His mother Jenn was delighted for her son.

"Oh, his expression said it all, he absolutely loved it.

"We'd had a crazy few weeks, so when I told him what we were going to be doing, his face just beamed."

Sean himself found a level of relaxation under the water.

"I realised I could relax and breathe and go upside down.

"I sat on the bottom of the pool, I moved around easily.

"I was weightless.

"It was so quiet."

Relaxation, peace and quiet are things Sean has had precious little of since being diagnosed with bone cancer in 2010, and discovering a second syndrome which made the affects of chemotherapy even stronger for Sean.

For a boy who was told by a doctor that he would not survive, who endured courses of chemotherapy, an amputation, countless doctors and specialists talking over him, and damage to his upper range of hearing, sitting on the bottom of a swimming pool in Paraparaumu was sheer bliss.

Sean's story has inspired a lot of people in our district, none more so than Mr Hipson.

"Sean is an inspiration and was a natural in the water.

"It was like his second home and he appeared to really be in his element.

"I personally checked his air after the dive and you can tell from that how hard people are breathing, and his gauge showed absolutely no sign of fear or panic.

"He was obviously nice, relaxed and comfortable in his under water world.

"The glow on his face showed how happy he was to have conquered yet another challenge."