PROGRAMS OFFER `RISKS' TO DISABLED.Byline: Keith Lair San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. Tribune Ann Johnson insists there is a big difference between danger and risk. ``There is a perception that what we are doing is too dangerous,'' said Johnson, program director for Pomona-based Casa Colina's Outdoor Adventures. ``We're not doing things dangerous, but we're offering risk, which is exciting. By managing risk, we are providing phenomenal opportunities.'' Johnson arranges more than 90 free adventure trips through the area hospital's outreach program to any disabled person in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . A person does not need to have been a patient at Casa Colina to participate in the program. In 14 years, Johnson has taken more than 1,800 paraplegics, quadriplegics and participants with brain injuries snow- and water-skiing, whitewater rafting, deep-sea fishing deep-sea fishing n → pesca d'alto mare , horseback riding horseback riding: see equestrianism. and sled-dog riding on one of the coldest Minnesota days of the century. Johnson said the program's recent adventure into scuba diving scuba diving Swimming done underwater with a self-contained underwater-breathing apparatus (scuba), as opposed to skin diving, which requires only a snorkel, goggles, and flippers. Scuba gear was invented by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Émile Gagnan in 1943. is definitely the most risky - and gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. - activity. Kevin Kamachi, who became a quadriplegic quadriplegic /quad·ri·ple·gic/ (-ple´jik) 1. of, pertaining to, or characterized by quadriplegia. 2. an individual with quadriplegia. after a 1995 off-road motorcycle accident, sought out Johnson to begin the project. ``It's almost like flying,'' said Kamachi, 29, of Whittier who was a certified diver before his accident. ``It's like being three-dimensional in the water.'' Johnson said scuba diving is liberating for quadriplegics because it frees them from the confines of their wheelchairs. ``You have to be thinking all the time,'' she said. ``That's what makes it challenging.'' Kamachi said having previous diving experience helped him prepare for last year's instruction, the first time Outdoor Adventures had tried scuba diving. ``You have to be a lot more patient,'' he said. Now he needs help getting his wet suit on and he can't descend as quickly as he once could. ``My circulation isn't what it was before the accident,'' he said. ``My buoyancy control is different. I just have to go slower.'' Slow and safe, those terms help define the program. Johnson, who works with an annual budget of about $120,000 derived from scholarships, fund-raisers, grants and donations, hasn't had a single serious injury. ``We always put safety first,'' said Johnson recently while overseeing a group ski outing at Bear Mountain. ``We manage risks. We feel the benefits definitely outweigh the risks and I think our success shows that. That's why we always use only professional outfitters and top instructors.'' ``It's so much fun to see these people out here doing things,'' she said. ``Watching them have fun gives me a kick, especially when you know it can be so much trouble for some of them to get out.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Members of Casa Colina's Outdoor Adventures assist Chris Smith Chris Smith is the name of: In politics:
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