| 6/22/2006 8:51:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Derrick Harden, who lost his lower right leg in January while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq, makes his way from the Salida boat ramp to the kayak park Tuesday. Harden was part of a kayaking clinic for disabled war veterans organized by Team River Runner of Washington, D.C. Photo by Jason Starr |
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War veterans find strength in river kayaking
by Jason Starr
Mail Staff Writer
Derrick Harden said he was once deathly afraid of water sports, but Tuesday, he braved four miles of the Arkansas River from Big Bend to downtown Salida in a kayak.
Surviving a roadside attack in Iraq will change one’s perspective on danger, he said.
“I’m kind of glad it happened,” Harden said of the explosion and ensuing fire-fight that cost him the lower part of his right leg, and leaving him with bullet wounds in his left leg and left arm. “A lot of good has come out of it.”
He came to Salida with nine other injured soldiers for a kayak clinic organized by the nonprofit Team River Runner group.
The organization from Washington, D.C., works directly with wounded veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The goal is to promote healing through kayaking.
For Harden, the Team River Runner experience has meant more than learning how roll a kayak and run rapids. The group has been a source of mental and emotional strength.
“They embrace your injury and try to help you past it,” he said. “They try to show you what you can do instead of you thinking about what you can’t do.”
Joe Mornini, a special education teacher from the D.C. area, started the program in 2004. He received an OK from the army and began teaching weekly kayak roll sessions in the Walter Reed pool.
The program has helped nearly 100 injured war veterans and expanded last year to include occasional trips to the Potomac River.
“The idea is to get them trained so they can get out of the hospital and on the river,” said Team River Runner instructor Eric Johnson. “If they have the desire we can get them into a boat and make it happen.”
The Colorado excursion is the largest undertaking to date by the group. After two days in Salida, the trip continued on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs.
Dave Potts of Mountain Sports Travel of Salida provided logistical assistance locally. Group members received a special rate for two nights at the Holiday Inn Express.
Participants warmed up at the Salida whitewater park Monday then ran the stretch from Big Bend Tuesday morning. They hope to return next summer, perhaps a few days earlier, to participate in some of the FIBArk events, Mornini said.
FIBArk competitor Jason Beakes remained in Salida after FIBArk events last weekend to coach the disabled kayakers this week.
Kayaking, he said, is the perfect sport for leg amputees and others with lower body injuries. Generally, they can paddle and roll their kayaks like any able-bodied participant.
“The experience of all our participants in this sport is very close to what other people have,” Beakes said. “A lot of other sports, the way they participate in it looks and feels a lot different than someone who is able-bodied.”
Other popular sports for disabled athletes – snow skiing, bicycling (using a hand-crank to pedal) and water skiing – require major equipment modifications to accommodate people with limited or no use of their lower extremities.
Kayaking is different because it relies mostly on shoulder, arm, back and abdominal muscles, all of which most leg amputees have full use.
“None of the injuries they have will prevent them from enjoying the sport at a high level,” Beakes said.
However, minor modifications to traditional kayaks could improve the experience for disabled athletes. Beakes plans to meet with engineers from South Carolina boat manufacturer Wave Sport, his kayak sponsor, in the fall to discuss adaptations to suit disabled paddlers.
It’s no different than other kayakers who customize the padding and flotation inside their boats, he said.
“In this sport, everyone modifies their equipment.”
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