As one goes thru life, one learns that if you don't paddle your own canoe, you don't move. - Katherine Hepburn

 I was a very good whitewater canoeist. I could probably still do class II rapids in a solo open canoe with my excellent balance and rapids reading skills. But since I could never rescue myself by swimming a swamped canoe to shore with only one usable hand  I won't ever be doing that again.  

A common quote from my Dad; 'Up shit creek without a paddle'.  Which is precisely what having a stroke is like. Zero EXACT knowledge from from your doctors and therapists, they know nothing concrete except excuses like;'All strokes are different, all stroke recoveries are different.' I feel like throwing them into Shit Creek.

The trophies are from the Buttercup series of whitewater slalom races(6 races in Wisconsin and Minnesota).

Left is 1rst place OC1(Open Canoe 1 person) 2004

Middle is 2nd place OC1(Open Canoe 1 person) 2003

Right is 3rd place OC1(Open Canoe 1 person) 2005

Missing are the two first place finishes in OC2(Open Canoe 2 person) in consecutive years with different paddling partners, they have the trophies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well shit, I was in fantastic shape when I had my stroke, exercise probably caused my stroke.  The week before my stroke I was on a 6 day whitewater canoe trip in Canada, class III+. Dog River, Ontario(23 miles and dropping 1050 feet with a 1.5 mile portage around a 120 ft. waterfall). We only portaged 5 times. 3 years post-stroke at a physical I had a resting heart rate of 54 at age 53, meaning I had the cardiovascular fitness of an athlete, even with doing no exercise for 3 years. I was in shape.