Cody Unser is certain that Capitol Hill made for a perfect venue to screen the premiere of the documentary film, “Sea of Change”, produced and directed by Chris Schueler, Christopher Productions. The South Theater was filled with a wonderful mix of influential people including members of the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Department of Veterans Affairs, Legislative Staff Members, and Medical Professionals. Everyone there witnessed what Cody and The Cody Unser First Step Foundation (CUFSF) accomplished with the first conventional SCUBA-Medical Pilot Study on the neurological and psychological affects of SCUBA on people with physical and mental challenges.

The New Mexico Delegation helped CUFSF bring attention to an “out of box” strategy in researching the affects of SCUBA Diving to address the needs of a new generation. This type of thinking has an astounding impact on future health policy and as the screening attendees internalized the message of the film, they began to realize that CUFSF is opening doors to therapies never considered as beneficial for recovery and rehabilitation.

CUFSF President, Shelley Unser said, “Our job now is to push this wave of attention to increase awareness of the benefits of SCUBA and through support of the NM Delegation this opportunity was made a reality.”

After becoming paralyzed from Transverse Myelitis, Cody and her foundation have been focused on integrating SCUBA Diving ever since she became certified herself in 2001. SCUBA Diving gave Cody her freedom and independence and thus “Cody’s Great SCUBA Adventures” was born in 2002. More than a decade of feeling new sensations in her legs and bladder, Cody pushed her doctors to look at how SCUBA Diving affects the paralyzed body and took 9 paralyzed vets, the foundation’s qualified Dive Team, and the doctors themselves to the Cayman Islands to conduct the research. “Sea of Change” is the visual evidence of what took place during the study.

New Mexico’s 1st District Congresswoman Michele Lujan Grisham introduced Cody Wednesday night (Sep 18) giving a poignant speech about Cody and the past fifteen years of progress she has made with her foundation’s (CUFSF) programming.

Cody Unser stated, “I was very humbled by Montel William’s introduction and for Congresswoman Michele Lujan Grisham’s heartfelt narrative. You could feel the excitement of the audience as they pummeled the Q&A panel with heightened curiosity about the results. Minute after minute the audience wasn’t ready to leave without answers, so thanks to Congressman Ben Ray Lujan’s Staff, who were enlisted to keep the theater open, we stayed for an additional 90 minutes of discussion. I couldn’t believe it, I thought we were going to be asked to turn out the Capitol’s lights when we left!”

There were plenty of questions from the audience directed at the investigators of the study, Dr. Adam Kaplin and Dr. Daniel Becker from Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger. The Q&A was hosted by the narrator of the film, Montel Williams, a veteran himself who shares the same passion of quality of life as Cody.

P.O. Box 56696 | Albuquerque, NM 87187 US