Nicole

Challenge:

Nicole missed summers the way she used to spend them. Prior to becoming paralyzed, she used to play basketball and go running. Now she was looking for something that could be her ‘thing’ again.

Nicole learned about an Open House event RAA was holding at Erie Canal Boat Company one summer. She decided to go and invited her dad to go with her.  Neither was certain about what they were getting into, but they both felt the excitement as they journeyed to Fairport.

Solution:

They discovered a kayak and cycle rental business on the banks of the Erie Canal… and lots of activity! Many people were gathered and Nicole and her dad could see people on a variety of three-wheeled cycles and getting in and out of kayaks. That day Nicole tried the handcycle for the first time, connected by phone to her mom as her dad shared the moment with her while Nicole cycled down the paved path along the canal.

And then Nicole wanted to try kayaking. She learned about the equipment options – high seat backs for support, outriggers for balance and confidence, and a paddle pedestal that could hold the paddle to reduce fatigue or support the arms. She was able to utilize the hoyer lift that was in place at the time to transfer from her power wheelchair into the kayak. She went in a tandem boat for her first ride so her dad could go with her.

It was that next moment, when she was on the water, that she knew she had discovered her next ‘thing.’ The tranquility of the water as the kayak glides across the surface.” She relished the ability to paddle with someone – in a tandem (two-person) or “in her own boat alongside someone else, which she discovered she could do on her next kayaking trip.

The water. The kayak. Self-propelling. This was her place.

“That’s the first thing we were able to do that was physically challenging – together – in years! To be able to meet somewhere, and do something physically challenging was liberating.”

Nicole returned week after week that first summer, because the business operates inclusively every time it is open. This was not a program on certain days or at certain times because she has a disability. This is just the way this business operates – every day. Nicole invited another friend or family member each time she came — eager to share this newfound joy with them.