Those familiar with the genesis of RAWZ know that some of our amazing non-profit RAWZ Fund partners played instrumental roles in both mine and my brother Andy’s lives after our injuries. Andy played sled hockey for Northeast Passage (NEP) while he was at the University of New Hampshire, and as a spectator it was amazing to watch Andy out there engaged competitively on the ice where we had both spent so much time in our youths! At Krempels Center, NEP frequently runs programming that allows members the chance to engage in various therapeutic recreational activities which are always a blast. Having frequently enjoyed NEP’s activities, my hand shot up after it was announced that they were offering a day of water skiing to members on the last Tuesday of July.
Part of my life after brain injury that is particularly frustrating and continues to be a challenge is my apprehension when breaking my routine or engaging in novel activity. From my involvement with Krempels and personal experience, I’ve learned that routine is very important not only for memory, but also to provide emotional regulation. That said, I wanted to back out of water skiing at first. It wasn’t that I was anxious about the actual water skiing as I knew NEP would make it fun and enjoyable no matter my ability, but rather that it wasn’t my usual Tuesday afternoon activity. Fortunately, aware of my tendency to back out of things at the last second, I’d enlisted my boss and #1 cheerleader (Mom) to provide the transportation and stuck with the plan.
Well, boy am I glad I did because I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun! As usual, the NEP team had already thought of everything and was prepared with all sorts of adaptations. We drove up to Bow Lake in Strafford where the wonderful Peterson family was allowing us access to their beautiful lakefront dock and boat. So how’d it go you ask?
I’m happy to report that with some assistance getting my left foot in the ski (which ironically proved to be the hardest part!) and NEP’s way of making anything possible, I was able to complete 4 exhilarating runs! First, I held on to a boom (plastic pole) extending 6 feet or so from the side of the boat. That went well, so I was transitioned to the short rope with a waterski handle attached to the boom. Lastly, I made 2 fun runs from a traditional rope trailing the boat. The gradual transition was great, letting my confidence incrementally build. While I’ve been blessed in my recovery and been able to return to many of the activities I loved prior to my brain injury, there’s something about the exhilaration of engaging in something that I doubted would work!
I can’t thank the Northeast Passage team (Crystal, Corinna, Katie, Miranda, John, John, and Cam) enough for such a great day! What a fantastic reminder of the way that together with pet parents feeding RAWZ and our RAWZ Fund partners like NEP, we continue to improve lives…
