Photo By Sgt. Ryan Hallock | Michael Jobb, a resident of Seattle, paddles his kayak around American Lake trolling...... read more read more
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AMERICAN LAKE PARK, Wash. – Until the end of time, just as mankind is about to achieve what America’s forefathers envisioned as the pursuit of happiness, may be just that: a pursuit. Peace on the other hand, well, peace can be obtained with a little help from friends and Mother Nature.
“Sometimes I just like to get out to enjoy the scenery,” said Dino Abulencia, behind sunglasses and with his long, black hair pulled back. “I think that’s something the vets and soldiers are pulling away from this is the serenity of just being out there.”
Abulencia founded the Northwest chapter of Heroes on the Water (HOW), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans and service members try something different, find peace on the water, and reel in some lunkers.
The group of weekend fishermen, some new, some old, came together to learn the up and coming sport of kayak fishing June 22 on a sun-filled day at American Lake Monet would have painted.
Their mission is simple: provide a unique healing experience by taking the weight of the world off through kayaking and fishing.
With post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury numbers steadily rising in the ranks of our military, HOW provides veterans and service members with an innovative approach to mental, physical, and occupational therapy.
“I’ve spoken to many of the vets who have attended,” said Abulencia, who started the chapter last year. “They say it gives them something different, because some of them can’t really be around huge crowds.”
There’s plenty of real estate on American Lake and the only crowd is below the surface, waiting to get hooked, gutted and scaled, and slapped on a grill.
For Pfc. Allyssa Nolan, kayaking on American Lake is one of the many opportunities she’s made sure to get involved with since being medically evacuated from Korea to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in January.
“I started getting really bad headaches, and I thought it was because I started a new workout,” said Nolan, a biomedical equipment specialist from Napa, Calif. “I went to the emergency room and they did a CT scan. They found hydrocephalus, which is water on the brain.”
Nolan was referred to an off-post neurologist. Upon further evaluation the doctors found a tumor. She was medically evacuated to Madigan Army Medical Center, because they didn’t have the capabilities to perform the surgery in Korea.
“They weren’t able to get it all out,” said Nolan. “Now I’m just doing physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy to try and regain my memory and my balance.”
Nolan spent Saturday morning, companioned by her guide, Steve DeMars, paddling her kayak across the calm water. Besides a few water-skiers, it was a quiet morning spent floating along trolling for fish.
“As I was a Marine once upon a time, I wanted to get together and add to what they were doing, and get out to show people how to crab and to fish,” said DeMars, who volunteers as a fishing guide for HOW. “I just want to get people out there and show them what it’s like. If they’ve never experienced it before, what nature’s all about.”
As the sun reached high noon, the participants paddled their way into shore and followed the aroma from the grill. Abulencia, who seconds as the grill master, served everyone a feast while they told stories about the day’s catches.
“They’re very motivational,” said Nolan, now relaxing after a day of fishing. “I think getting outside or outside of the circle to be with people that are supportive is very uplifting. It doesn’t make you feel so confined. I think if you go out and do events like this it makes your situation better.”
Nolan plans to transfer her skills from the military into the civilian sector after she medically retires in the fall.
For more information about Heroes on the Water visit their website at www.HeroesOnTheWater.org.
| Date Taken: | 06.22.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.25.2013 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 109232 |
| Location: | WA, US |
| Hometown: | NAPA, CA, US |
| Hometown: | OLYMPIA, WA, US |
| Hometown: | SEATTLE, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 525 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Veterans, service members find peace on American Lake, by SGT Ryan Hallock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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