Joe Moore and Susquehanna Kayak and Canoe Rentals owner, Art Coolbaugh perform a demonstration for the class.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
After they got their kayaks outfitted with some adaptive equipment, participants got into the water for some hands-on learning.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Individual Abilities in Motion held an adaptive paddling workshop this weekend at Misericordia University in Dallas, where participants with various mobility impairments learned about water safety and the different ways padding equipment can be adapted to their needs.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Before everyone got into the water, Adaptive Expeditions Executive Director and Padding Instructor, Joe Moore (grey tee shirt, red life jacket) spoke of the importance of having your life jacket on properly.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
DALLAS — Barbara Romanansky would describe herself as a passionate kayaker, although that might be an understatement.
“If I cut myself,” she said, “I bleed Susquehanna River water.”
Well, the pool at Misericordia University certainly isn’t the Susquehanna River, but Romanansky didn’t seem to mind. Sitting in her wheelchair, she wheeled herself around the perimeter of the pool, impatient to get started.
Romanasky was one of many individuals with a mobility impairment who participated in Individual Abilities in Motion’s adaptive padding workshop this weekend. The three-day course consisted of classroom work as well as hands-on paddling experience in the university’s pool.
Romanasky, a board member of IAM, was an “able-bodied kayaker” until she had to have her right leg, just below her knee, amputated due to a blood clot. Romanasky said her life was “upended” because of it, and she remembers crying to her physical therapist, terrified she’d never kayak again. Although she eventually learned how to paddle again, Romanasky’s personal experience showed her just how important it is for people with disabilities to have access to everyday activities.
“The bottom line of this is making integration happen,” she said.
IAM provides support to those with mobility impairments through peer support, community awareness and various social events. The nonprofit organization also offers a Wellness Grant for people to get support for physical activities that may not be covered by health insurance.
Through its Get Out, Get Active and R.E.A.C.H programs, IAM members are able to partake in various adventure activities from adaptive cycling to bowling. This weekend marked one of IAM’s first training workshops, geared specifically toward paddling.
On Friday and Saturday, participants learned about different disabilities and the adaptive equipment available to them. On Sunday, they got their kayak boats individualized to their needs and spent some time in the water where paddling instructor, Joe Moore helped them practice water safety.
Moore is the Founding Executive Director of Adaptive Expeditions, located in South Carolina. A certified Adaptive Program Instructor and Trainer through the American Canoe Association, Moore taught participants and their able-bodied partners how to get in and out of their kayaks safely, as well as the importance of properly wearing their life jackets.
Keith Brown, owner of Endless Mountain Outfitters, and Art Coolbaugh, owner of Susquehanna Kayak and Canoe Rentals, provided the adaptive equipment for the workshop and also participated in the training session.
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” Brown said. Brown has worked with IAM for a number of years, outfitting the group with paddles and life jackets, but the workshop was his first hands-on experience. For him, the education he received was vital.
“There are so many things that are offered and so many adaptations that are available that I didn’t even know existed,” he said.
The workshop was educational for Coolbaugh too and “very rewarding.” He commended all of the participants for having “such a wonderful attitude and willingness to learn.”
This weekend’s workshop was made possible by two grants IAM received from The Luzerne Foundation and The Times Leader. Some of the money went to the purchase of a new kayak boat and the rest went to securing paid instructors for the class.
Joe Salva, president of IAM, said that the class was important since there are a lot of safety concerns with paddling due to it being a water sport.
Salva, who became a wheelchair user after a workplace accident left him with a spinal cord injury, hopes that in training people who are local to the area, so that they’re familiar with different disabilities and how to work with them, IAM can offer adaptive paddling to more people in the community.
“If we get more people that are trained, it’s gonna make it easier for us to get people out on the water,” he said.
Nichole Santiago, a wheelchair user from Archbald, has been a member of IAM for just over a year. While she doesn’t have her own kayak boat yet, getting one is her ultimate goal. The workshop has sparked a love of kayaking in her and she intends to keep it as a hobby.
“It’s nice to get onto the water and see different views and not be in the chair,” Santiago said.
Of course, no one seemed more at ease in the water than Romanansky, who has the Buddhist symbol for mindfulness tattooed on her left forearm. When she held her arm up, tipping the symbol on its side, it actually resembled a kayak.
“The only time I feel mindful,” Romanansky said, “is when I’m in the water.”