|
Iraq veterans inspire at No Barriers Festival |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Andrew Cristancho/Tahoe World
|
|
Monday, 02 July 2007 |
|
|
|
|
After hiking a steep, rocky trail for the better part of two hours, Iraq war veteran Angel Barcenas hollered to the rest of the hikers.
“That was a short one,” he said. “ I thought it would be longer.”
The rest of the competitors in the No Barriers 2007 hike Friday laughed because that’s how Barcenas is.
The 30-year-old Marine and father of two runs, swims, scuba dives, rock climbs, snowboards and rollerblades. He recently participated in batting practice with the Toronto Blue Jays and just completed the 26-mile Bataan Memorial Death March in New Mexico.
 And he was correct: As far as hikes go, the one-hour-forty-five-minute, half-mile hike sponsored by No Barriers 2007 was a fairly short one. But it was inspiring for the fact that Barcenas is a double amputee — both legs are gone below the knees.
“I was on presence patrol — we were looking for an [improvised explosive device] in the road, and I found it,” Barcenas deadpanned.
In place of the legs he lost are two black carbon-fiber prosthetics tucked into white running sneakers. At Friday’s event, he talked about the inner dialogue he had in the hospital bed after his injury.
“I said to myself, ‘Will I be able to do this again?’ but to everybody else I said, ‘I’ll be able to do this again,’” Barcenas said with a smile.
His younger brother and fellow Marine, George, substantiated Barcenas’ story of outward bravado. Two days after Angel’s injury, he heard from his older brother.
“He called me from the hospital in Germany and he said, ‘I may be short but I can still kick your ass,’” George Barcenas said.
As the group rested on a sun-warmed granite slab next to an alpine creek, the nearly 6-foot Barcenas, called out in Spanish to his 2-year-old son Angel, “No corre aqui (Don’t run here).”
Both of Barcenas’ sons have tagged along with his wife-to-be, Luz Vera, and her brother. The family stopped on the granite in the dappled shade chatting in two languages.
“My parents are Mexican; I’m first-generation American, and first-generation Marine,” Angel Barcenas said with a disarming smile.
No Barriers
No Barriers USA worked with such organizations as Disabled Sports USA and the Wounded Warrior Project to sponsor some of the 20 Iraq war veterans and 18 relatives to attend the five-day No Barriers festival. The groups do more than hold weekend events.
“I wouldn’t have been able to get out to the mountains ... [without them],” Barcenas said. “Those organizations opened up a whole new world for me.”
 Those who had a hand in the No Barriers festival said participants like Barcenas provide inspirational role models to others with physical challenges.
“What’s cool is that every person here has an amazing story,” said Erik Weihenmayer, himself a mountain climber — a blind mountain climber that is, the first blind man to climb Mount Everest and the rest of the seven highest peaks in the world.
Weihenmayer is also on the board of directors for the No Barriers Festival and helped plan the first American No Barriers event over the last two years.
“I think we’re trying to let people know there are solutions out there,” Weihenmayer said. “It’s cool to bring these pioneers together.”
Among the people that he considers pioneers is garage tinkerer Mark Wellman, a double amputee who lives in Truckee, who has developed his own adaptive climbing gear, and mountain climber Hugh Herr, another board member, who is breaking new barriers.
Herr is a professor at the MIT-Harvard Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He lost his legs in an climbing accident and has developed apparatus so advanced he now is climbing at a higher level than he did when he was “able-bodied.”
“It’s already happening: Amputees aren’t going to be allowed in the Olympics because they can run farther and jump higher,” Weihenmayer said.
Some things are still harder to fix.
Reddi Parker, a tall, tanned 27-year-old Army National Guardsman sat by the a mountain stream. Sitting with his girlfriend Emma Coots, they soaked their feet in the cool water. Both from Arkansas, they’re long-time friends and recent sweethearts. At first glance Parker’s only injury is that half of his right foot is missing.
“[Some] 14-year-old kids threw three grenades at me,” he said.
But Parker explained that he also received a head injury, from which his recovery has been more challenging.
The No Barriers Festival concluded Monday.
Smashing barriers a success
Hundreds of people doing great things is how Executiive Director Jim Goldsmith of the No Barriers Festival described the event that ended Monday.
The five-day event, held at Squaw Valley, was equal parts interactive clinic, trade show and science seminar.
Malcom Daly, an event director, explained that No Barriers 2007 was different because of the combination of experts and activities.
“There is a synergy created when leading experts are here discussing the latest adaptive technologies,” Daly said. “So many other trade shows provide the entertainment component, which is important, but this is so much more.”
 The event enjoyed sponsorship from Lumber Liquidators, Nike, Verizon and Wells Fargo. Six hundred participants came from as far away as Australia and Scotland. There were over 200 volunteers who helped.
The No Barriers board of directors is still deciding where and when the event should be next year.
Photos by Emma Garrard/Tahoe World
Click here to view a slideshow of No Barriers athletes rock climbing
Click here to view a slideshow of No Barriers athletes kayaking
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 02 July 2007 )
|
|
|
