| Paddlers with disabilities: It’s about Freedom… |
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| Written by Janet A. Zeller |
| Wednesday, 01 September 2004 01:47 |
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Finding independence on water Our tandem kayak glides across 8- to 10-foot swells in the Pacific off Monterey, Calif., as we paddle toward the seals draped on the buoy at the end of the peninsula. My wheelchair is back in the van in Monterey, waiting for me to return, but for now I am free. Canoeing and kayaking open experiences for me where a wheelchair can’t go: Winding our canoe through the mangrove swamp in the Florida Everglades we keep a sharp eye for alligators. That night we camp on a platform in the swamp...My spirit is renewed, as the summer sun becomes a golden disk slipping lower on the horizon, sending a red beam across the lake. On another trip, the only sound is the gentle lapping of the lake against the shore as the sun sets in the Boundary Waters. And then there are the friends who make special paddling experiences possible. The water level in the San Marcos River, not far from Austin, Texas, is running high enough to make a whitewater run possible. With Gordon Black in the stern, I relive the thrill of paddling whitewater for the first time since a disability became part of my life. Paddling is freedom from my wheelchair and a sense of being equal on the water that is unique to paddlesports. After many years of paddling, disability changed my life in 1988 when, as the result of an accident, I became a quadriplegic, unable to walk and with limited use of my hands. But thanks to adaptations and the help of friends, I am still paddling. Only paddling can bring this sense of freedom and equality to a person who is otherwise dependent on a motorized wheelchair for mobility. A body that is so uncooperative on land becomes part of a sleek craft gliding through the water; there are no barriers to stop me. Why do you paddle? Is it the sense of challenge and discovery; the beauty of the land, water and wildlife; the energy renewal after a great paddle; or the bond between paddlers? For paddlers with disabilities, it is all of those reasons, plus liberation. With 54 million people in the United States possessing a disability, it’s likely that disability affects your life in some way, or that of a friend or a family member. The unavoidable truth is that if sometime in your life you will likely experience some level of disability. The great news is that adaptations make it possible for you to continue paddling. When Tom Kyler, an operation management specialist from Parma Heights, Ohio, injured his spinal cord in 1997, he was left a paraplegic and in a wheelchair. He could still play his favorite sports such as basketball and softball, and he could still go backpacking, but these activities weren’t the same. The rules had changed. "Canoeing, however, is exactly the same sport for me," he says. "I have to take a different route to get to the water and adapt my seating, but the sport has not changed." In 1998 Kyler took an American Canoe Association (ACA) paddling workshop that gave him the knowledge and confidence to go canoeing. "I like to canoe with my family, and I especially want to involve my daughters, and they are happy to participate," he says. "The first time after my injury that I paddled with my daughters, my older daughter turned and smiled at me from the bow. It was a smile I will never forget. It told me she was happy to be back out canoeing with her dad. I will never forget that smile and I will continue trying to make it reappear." For John Creagh, an artist from Warwick, N.Y., disability came before he discovered the freedom of paddling. While on a vacation at Cape Cod, John and his wife, Mary, decided to try sea kayaking. The outfitter didn’t have much experience working with individuals with disabilities, but some temporary adaptations were devised. Within minutes of being out on the water, John says he knew he had found just the activity he had been searching for. After 20-plus years using a wheelchair, John knew he needed to find an activity that would alleviate his stressed shoulders. The rhythm of paddling came almost naturally, a flashback to the days of his youth before the accident when he had canoed and kayaked as a Boy Scout and Explorer. John could feel the change in his shoulders, the paddling improving his flexibility and range of motion and counter balancing the repetitive motions used in pushing his wheelchair. But most importantly, John and Mary had discovered a sport they could enjoy together. The couple knew before they could actively pursue their new sport, for safety's sake, they needed to learn how to handle themselves out on the water. They completed an Introduction to Paddling course through an ACA Adaptive Paddling Workshop (APW). Over that weekend, they learned techniques for adapting a kayak, practiced wet exits and re-entries in a pool, and took their new skills on a group paddling excursion on the bay. After years of wheelchair racing and tennis, John has found that kayaking is opening up new opportunities. "In a kayak, I can get to areas I could never access in a wheelchair," he says. "It's great to be out on the water and out of the wheelchair. Ultimately, we'd like to purchase our own kayaks and explore some of the beautiful lakes in our area." His wife agrees: "We’ve finally found something we can do together, at the same pace. It's also a great social outlet and we have already met some great people kayaking." As an unexpected bonus for Mary and John, Paul Pizzutello, an instructor at the Paddlesport Center of Atlantic Kayak Tours in Cortlandt, N.Y., was completing his Adaptive Paddling Endorsement at the same APW session they took. Pizzutello, an ACA sea kayaking instructor, believes kayaking should be available to everyone and that integrating people with disabilities into paddling just makes sense. Since they met, Pizzutello has outfitted a kayak for John's use and has worked with the couple on the Hudson River. The freedom they have found has opened an entirely new world for them. That freedom awaits each person, including those of us with disabilities. --Janet Zeller had been paddling canoes and kayaks for over 30 years when she was injured in a work-related accident resulting in paralysis including all four limbs. Despite being a quadriplegic, she was determined to keep paddling. In 1990 she developed the Adaptive Paddling Program for the American Canoe Association (ACA) and co-authored the book Canoeing and Kayaking for Persons with Disabilities. She is an ACA Instructor Trainer Educator, teaching adaptive paddling workshops around the country. A former two-term ACA president and, until 2000, a 12-year member of its Board of Directors, she earns her living as the National Accessibility Program Manager for the U.S. Forest Service. Originally Published, Paddler September-October 2004 |
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