Sorry Tiziak,
I'll explain.
First Descents is a kayaking camp for young adults with cancer.
www.firstdescents.org
This year is the first time there has been a camp in WA. Wet Planet is our outfitter, between them and meal donations from local companies, the generosity of the Columbia George Hostel, and to many to others to name, the campers get a week on the river.
It changes lives!
In the picture, we got off the river and went cherry picking! Black Cherry's, Bing's, & Ranier's? OMG I love cherry's. We picked 51# of cherry's in a half hour (no idea what we will do with them, maybe a cherry fight?)
The highlight for me of cherry picking was the 1st annual Cherry Seed Spitting Contest: I won, but the competition was tough.
This isn't a kayaking instructional course, it is a 'Kayaking Experience' a chance to show a group of people that have battled in their lives that their bodies are not their enemies, they can smile, forget and enjoy.
I will be posting pic's and stories everyday. Most of these guys are characters.
CheersFirst Descents

Edited by Tobin - 19 Jul 2009 at 7:52am

The camp ends on Thursday the 23rd.
we ran the Lower White Salmon with the campers today.
They rocked it.
Tomorrow is a rest day of kite boarding in Hood River.
I have 15 new hero's!

I thought I would post a closing note:

A personal THANK YOU to all our Veterans in the community!
It was an amazing week, one that I have yet to convert from feelings to words.

Make a read of this. This guy is my HERO!

Dudes and Dudette's of First Descents,

I can't begin to describe the amount of awesome that Monday's event was for myself personally and our foundation as a whole.

I don't want to sound like an American Cancer Society or a Relay for Life advertisement but, as I am sure you are all acutely aware, cancer infects and affects millions of people every year. Every person in our foundation, myself included, has had their
lives impacted to some extent by this ugly disease and we wish our family members and friends could have shown the zest and love for life that you guys do.

Many of you answered questions that I had about your diseases and therapy and I shared my story with some of you as well. To any among you whom I wasn't able to hang out with as much, I will give you the brief rundown...I was injured in a beautiful
little enemy infested suburb of Baghdad, Iraq called Sadr City on June 13, 2004. We were on foot when we were hit by a grenade ambush. I am apparently fat enough that I managed to catch the first two grenades that came in with my over sized body, inadvertently blocking my buddies around me from serious harm. Unfortunately, I was not spared and the grenades blew up at my feet, resulting in the now-noticeable lack of those appendages. I would love to have a Medal of Honor story about how this was an act of self sacrifice on my part but the truth is, if I could move more like Micheal Jackson (RIP) and less like
Shaq, I may not be in this position.

I did my therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC and it was there that I was gifted a new, more positive outlook on life. This attitude carried throughout my recovery and into my life back in the real world. Since then I
have thrown myself into roles of being an example for others going through hardships.

I have always had people tell me that I was an inspiration to them but I have never fully understood the impact of that statement.

Until I met you guys. I was truly humbled to be in your presence in Hood River and to share the day with you. For once in my life I felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of an inspiration. For the first time it was I who was a little embarrassed to tell my story in the shadow of the mountainous adversities you guys have overcome. I stood in awe as each of you showed what a gift it is to be truly appreciative of life. I left the event on Monday feeling like I was walking on air, not an easy accomplishment for a guy who travels around on titanium stilts every day.

You people will never be able to understand the impact that you made on me and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to hang out with you guys and be a part of your camp. I know at least one mangled up war vet that you gained as a fan this week.

To prevent this Hallmark card from becoming any longer, I will close now. I am on Facebook and would gladly accept any friend requests sent to me, I would love to keep in touch with as many of you as are interested.

Square your shoulders and keep your heads up, it's the only way to see the river ahead of you.

Pura Vida, conquerors of cancer and see you on the river!


Sincerely,

Kevin Pannell
Director, Adaptive Sports Program