DENVER — They came together — wounded veterans, the blind and others with disabilities — to overcome not just a physical challenge, but mental ones too.
The group is with Adaptive Adventures, which offers outdoor sports opportunities for the disabled and their families.
And Sunday, it kicked off training for the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival in July. They already face challenges in their lives, but they continue to tackle new trials.
“Remember the rotate. Start with the shoulder,” Chris Wiegand of Adaptive Adventures told a group gathered at Denver’s Sloan’s Lake.
It would be so easy for the group of 22 to just stay home.
“I got run over by a speedboat at Lake Powell,” said Jan Guyaux, who lost her leg four years ago.
“We all have our limitations. Some more so than others,” said combat veteran Rich Oshiuzzo, who deals with a war hip injury and post traumatic stress disorder.
Others have visual impairments. All of them coming together as part of Adaptive Adventures.
“We are providing an opportunity for people with physical disabilities to get outside,” Wiegand said.
They kick off their season for dragon boating with an exclamation point.
“What’s really significant about today, our typical practice session is 90 minutes. We are really stretching. Can we last five hours today? Can we get 22 people thriving together?” Wiegand said.
They encourage each other to push beyond their own personal limitations for the greater good.
“I had a lot of PTSD and this organization enables me to get out on a kayak on Sloan’s Lake with speedboats. I had a couple of meltdowns. But they really help me recover,” Guyaux said.
“Eighty percent is mental, the rest is physical. By reaching beyond those limitations really helps build that spirit and confidence,” Oschiuzzo said.
A confidence to power a 2,000-pound craft and significantly push past the usual training distance of about 3,000 meters. They are each different, but similar in their passion to make the most of their lives.
“All that matters is we are in sync together, one heartbeat, one rhythm and common drive,” Wiegand said.
Sunday’s practice was to honor the 22 veterans who return home, can’t adjust to civilian life and take their own life every day.
The group will be in action at the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival on July 30-31.