April 8th, 2010

Outdoors: Kayaking for Handicapped People

Days when physically handicapped people were utterly helpless has long gone. Today, the society and numerous organizations for the disabled have engineered means and ways to make people with disabilities to become more independent and responsible. They can even enjoy sports without any help. People always feel good when they are able to overcome challenges and it is wonderful to see that the challenge of physical disability is a thing of the past.

Among the favorite recreation today for handicapped people is kayaking. There are dedicated individuals that have revolutionized the sport to make them available even for people with physical challenges. Mark Theobald is one of these so called individuals.

Mark is known as the disabled kayak inventor/extraordinaire to his peers. With his innovative ways and astonishing dedication, he has made the sport possible and accessible to people who before had no chance of enjoying paddling the waters. His revolutionary paddles and backrest adaptations have made his designs a hit for many organizations with disability programs.

Handicapped individuals who are into adventure sports have much to thank Mark for. One disabled adventurer who cant walk said that it is a great sport for him as paddling can replace walking and he is free to explore unique environments and overcome challenges independently.

Even quadriplegics have a chance to enjoy sports as Mark is continually working with them to create designs that enables them to enjoy kayaking independently. One in particular, a female college student who suffers from cerebral palsy said she didnt think she would be able to do kayaking. They were able to do the unexpected. Like many people suffering from CP, her movements are severely limited.

A quadriplegic who had very limited use of his hands took one of Marks creations for a spin. The revolutionized hand paddles made it easy for him to command the kayak. He gave Marks paddle concept a very high review. At the moment, he is working with Mark to further develop the concept to enable even those with severe disabilities to enjoy the sport of kayaking.

There are people like Mark Theobald who have tirelessly devoted their talents and efforts to enable individuals with disabilities to live life to the fullest. Because of their genius, a sport like kayaking is no longer exclusive for people with no disabilities. A handicapped person can now have a chance to explore new environments and overcome what used to be insurmountable hurdles even on his own.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 3:21 am and is filed under Outdoors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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