Scenes of
South Lake

David Lawrence Sr. has heard all the excuses.

“My child can’t do that.”

“My legs don’t work.”

“I’m not strong enough.”

Just wait, he’ll say, until you get out of the pool.

Over the past 15 years, David has seen life-changing transformations thanks to SCUBA and underwater therapy. Sometimes it’s limbs numbed by cerebral palsy regaining motion and range. Or it’s a child with autism taking their first steps to independence.

Either way, confidence is found at the bottom of The SCUBA Gym’s pool.

“It changes their whole perspective, their whole being,’” David says.

Reaching this point—two gyms in Australia, four in the U.S., 80 volunteers in Orlando—required David to overcome his own doubts.

The SCUBA Gym was born from tragedy: David’s son was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2007. Surgery saved his life but left him paralyzed from the neck down. Occupational and physical therapy followed, and it got David thinking.

“I felt like if I could put David in a normal walking position and just do it over and over, his brain would wake up,” David says.

That led him to his weekend SCUBA hobby and the weightless pool environment. Patience and practice produced results, and today David Jr. can walk—even without feeling on the left side of his body. It was a gift too good not to share, so David launched The SCUBA Gym in 2009.

As David explains it, underwater therapy introduces forgotten motions to the brain and starts the nerves firing again. First-timers can go from wheelchair to high-kicking underwater.

“The proof is in what we’re able to do,” he says.

Underwater is also a blissfully low stimulus environment for visitors with special needs like autism. David recalls a young man who went home from a session and took a shower on his own for the first time. Those are small steps that add up to big victories, he says.

Seeing those breakthroughs and life changes answers a deep-rooted need in David to help others.

“I’m a servant. I like to serve people, always have,” he says.

“What no one reports is no police officer ran away from Pulse. When the reports of the suspect wearing a suicide vest emerged, every first responder paused for a split second and thought their last thought. It was a surreal feeling, no one thought to save themselves, we were focused and committed to helping the victims.” 

If one tragedy wasn’t enough, Rick Fink, over the next four years, lost fellow police officers and close friends to fatal shootings, his father, who was also a deputy chief who struggled with addiction. “The opiates may have played a factor in my dad’s death but what killed him was the “stigma.”” Rick’s father was too afraid to come forward and get help. Then Rick was given the awful news that his best friend in the military committed suicide—ultimately leaving Rick having thoughts of suicide himself.

“I drove into work numbly and was called into my new lieutenant’s office. I figured I had probably done something wrong, but he asked me a simple question… ‘are you okay?’.” 

After all he had been through, no one had even asked him. After Pulse, there was a CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) debrief, where one person was assigned to 25 people who were directly impacted by the attack; Rick comments, “How are they supposed to understand my story, help me, and then help everyone else?” There had to be another way.

In 2021, Rick and his wife welcomed their new daughter. Admittedly, Rick stated, “I felt nothing.” A long-awaited daughter, something he had dreamed of and looked forward to, was met with emptiness. “That was my ‘A-Ha’ moment.”

“I found a therapy program geared toward first responders—but ultimately, I was told by them that I was ‘too damaged.’ I eventually found myself in a rehab for PTSD.” 

Unfortunately, Rick’s story of tragedy and shock is not uncommon. When first responders need help, where do they turn? Do they attend group sessions, talk to a therapist, or confide in their spouse? Unfortunately, the answer is none of the above. Approximately 85% of first responders anonymously report symptoms of mental health conditions, carrying the burden alone and living in the darkness of depression.

Light emerged from the damage Rick was told he had, leading to the creation of The Officer Support Initiative in 2023.

Becoming a first responder, it is ingrained in your mind to become numb to the things you encounter. Death, violence, emotion, fear, bodies, gore — “You are supposed to just make a joke in your mind about what you are witnessing so you can cope, but that’s not sustainable.” Rick and the three other leaders of OSI – Brandon, Mike, and Raul – are aware that if they seek help for their mental health, they may encounter responses such as “This is the job you signed up for,” “Suck it up, buttercup,” or even face reprimands at work.

“When you get hurt on the job, you get time off to recover, and when you return, no one questions if you can put on the badge and perform the duties of an officer. If you come forward after a traumatic event, requesting a mental health day or help—your capabilities are questioned”. 

“OSI focuses on supporting all first responders, veterans, and the families of the men and women who need our support.” From his own experience, Rick understands that, too often, families suffer in silence. 

“The one person who loves me more than anything is my wife, and when I was at my lowest, I treated her so poorly. We knew we needed to incorporate assistance for families just looking to support their loved ones.” OSI offers resources for families and works effortlessly to ensure that they have ample resources to help their loved ones and keep their home life stable. 

OSI now helps with officer training, where members tell their stories and encourage first responders to seek help. When someone calls one of the OSI members, a first responder’s life can be saved. “We get calls from people who are at their lowest, but they don’t understand that you can still fall six feet lower. We want to be there to catch them before they do,” Mike, another component of OSI, shares.

“When we get the phone call, we have a system to support that individual immediately. We will spend however long it takes on the phone with them while simultaneously working with our network of mental health professionals to get them in to talk to a specialist. From that moment on, we implement a system of ‘buddy checks’”, Mike explains.

A buddy check may seem simple, but in truth, it is something we can all do. When we know someone may be going through a challenging time, it’s our time to pick up the phone and help them. The act of simply being there is immeasurable. Mike and Rick say, “Many are alive today because of buddy checks.”

“While hearing a story from a civilian about their trauma is impactful, we have found that hearing from and learning from former officers who have done the job they are performing creates more opportunities and a space where they feel empowered to come forward and ask for assistance.” Self-disclosure typically occurs when the sharer feels the receiver is similar to them.

One year after its founding, OSI has received overwhelming support. The organization has partnered with the Orlando Magic, organized numerous successful fundraisers, participated in speaking engagements, taught crisis intervention classes, and provided mental health training at the police academy. Most importantly, it is proud of the 47 first responder lives impacted and ultimately saved by its efforts.

“We have had several police chiefs reach out to us to speak at their departments, where we ultimately get to carry our mission further.” Mike shares that he was speaking at a class when he was flagged down by someone who shared they were going to end their life, and this class was their “last chance.” OSI was able to get them into therapy within 15 minutes.