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In 2018, just a month after getting married, I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in my right tibia and knee. I’ll skip over the details of that ordeal, but it was quite literally life-changing for my wife and me, and our plans for the future. Post chemotherapy and after a major limb salvage and reconstructive surgery, I was now going to spend the rest of my days living with a partial prosthetic replacement of a large portion of my leg. This was one of the life changes I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, this meant many things that I took for granted would no longer be possible as a “disabled person”. For example, my wife and I loved to play co-ed rec league hockey together every weekend at our local small town hockey arena. My diagnosis and disability would put an end to that and many activities that would bring happiness into my life.
I was in a dark, dark place mentally with no hope on the horizon to experience any joy. The support of my incredible wife would help me get through most days, but there was an obvious void in my soul and spirit that needed healing. I found that participating in various para-sports gave me a sense of peace and allowed me to feel like I belonged somewhere in the world. Representing provincial teams at National sporting championships, tournaments, and competitions helped me overcome fears and doubts that I could ever accomplish such things (as a person with an acquired disability). This is important for my recovery/healing because I’ve always struggled with feeling that I don’t fit in anywhere.. It hasn’t been picture perfect. My mental health has never quite been the same since 2018, but I wouldn’t change the outcome that led to this outlook and perspective I now have with my new lease on life. I have para sports and the GOOD people within those communities who support my dreams and make efforts to help me achieve my goals, I’m thankful for that.
So with that being said, get out and try new things! Try everything and find your new passion(s)! Don’t let any negativity or obstacles get in the way of your dreams! Find your people! They are out there and you’ll know when you do!”
Vic shared two stories with us, both are below. If you want to jump to part 2, click here.
Back in high school, I was asked to join the cross-country running team. It involved running 5 km for each event. I am not built for distance; I have the
physique of a fire hydrant. For some reason unknown to me, my parents made the decision not to send me to a boarding school for the blind, which was the common practice. Back then, the public school system didn’t have educational assistants. An itinerant teacher would visit two or three times per month, depending on what was required. My classmates would be the ones that took turns reading textbooks, handouts, and notes on the board to me. It was thought Braille was obsolete and audio recordings was the future. I blame this on my inability to spell many words and not use punctuation correctly in a lot of instances. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
During gym classes, teachers tried innovative ways to include me in all activities. Much of which were trial and error. In the end, I learned many skills such as dribbling a basketball, shooting baskets from the free throw line, how to serve a volleyball, etc. Although I never was able to contribute anything in the way of actual games in some of the activities, learning the skills and strategies along with the other students has given me an appreciation and an understanding of what is going on when I am listening to the play-by-play broadcast of the different sports.
During our first city-wide cross-country race against other schools, we didn’t hammer out the best way to guide me; our knowledge was lacking due to having no resources or having been taught by disability sport experts. When we are younger our hearing is very good so I thought I would just follow the group in the same way I did around school and in gym class and hope my own heavy breathing wouldn’t drown them out. When the race started after we began running my fellow team members formed a circle around me and guided me through the course to the finish line. Looking back this ended up being an interesting approach. We never thought of using a tether to join me to an individual. I was able to run along freely, moving my arms at my own pace. Determining the correct pace was entirely on me. My team members would provide verbal cues like we are gaining on someone, a person is passing on the left, and so on. Although I have no idea how our team ended up in the final standings. It wasn’t important to any of us back then, but the fact that we stuck together as a team is something I’ll never forget.
During my post-secondary education, I was part of the wrestling teams of the colleges and universities I attended. One of the results of those experiences was I was approached by the Alberta Sports and Recreation Association for the Blind, ASRAB, asking if I would like to go to a national tournament. This was held in Bradford, Ontario. I didn’t know this at the time, but it was the selection process for Canada’s next Paralympic team. The important aspect of this stage of my life is now I am involved with ASRAB, exposing me to several sports with other athletes who had varying levels of vision and coaches who were very knowledgeable on how to help us both learn and develop our skills. Up until this time, I only learned how to take part in different sports with sighted people. It wasn’t practical for them to change everything for me, so along with their help, we did our best to include me as much as possible with our limited knowledge and experience.
One of the new sports I tried was goalball. It is a team sport, and my preference has always been to be part of a team that worked together. They sent me to a national tournament to represent Alberta. My first role on the team was centre. I thought they asked me to play that position because of my fast reflexes and ability to move in either direction. Unfortunately, I didn’t know it at the time, but the starting centre and the coach were in the middle of a conflict, with the result being the team didn’t have anyone else to play in that position.
Our team didn’t do very well. If my memory is correct, we only won one game. My ability to stop the ball wasn’t what one would consider textbook. I ended up leaving a lot of my DNA splattered in the different gymnasiums. Many blocks were accomplished with my head and face. All of those years trying to keep up with my sighted peers made me rather resilient, allowing me to continue. I was presented with an award: Mr. Congeniality. That three-day weekend at a national tournament taught me more about the sport than all of those weeks of practicing. I am happy to say the issue between the coach and starting centre player was resolved.
I continued to play goalball on either wing, stepping in as centre when needed. My skills improved, and so did my technique on how to block a ball without requiring bandages. Working together, we became much stronger and a much better team. I continued to play for Alberta, followed by playing for Manitoba when I moved to Winnipeg.
My taking part in blind sports gave me the opportunity to see all of Canada and travel internationally as a Paralympic athlete representing Team Canada. It introduced me to how various boards function at the provincial, national, and international levels. Sports has given me a lot of confidence in my abilities, which has had a tremendous impact on my professional career. I was able to move, manage, install, and set up a plethora of IT equipment. When asked to take part in projects in other cities, the travelling I did for sports allowed me to be able to get to where I needed to be independently. The skills I obtained on the different boards translated into me being comfortable at management meetings.
My appreciation of team sports encouraged me to play on one of the first blind hockey teams. The objective was to create awareness and to help raise funds. The colours of the helmets were red for those of us with no functional vision, blue for the players with some functional vision, and white for the sighted members of the team. We always tried to have one person with a white helmet and one person with a red helmet on each line of five players. Being part of those different teams taught me how important it is to respect everyone’s role and abilities. That was never expressed in my project management classes, but it served me well on every project I managed for work
Multi-sport athlete, age 26
I have been participating in para sports for almost 10 years! I have always been an active person, with or without a disability. I have tried Wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, biking, wheelchair curling, wheelchair fencing, archery, shooting, cross-country skiing, sledge hockey, and boccia.
I started off playing wheelchair basketball and competed at the 2015 Canada Games. I am so grateful for such an experience, and many memories were made. From basketball, I then moved to playing wheelchair rugby, where I was able to do more traveling with the team. There were always fun times to be had, and it was never a dull moment. I was lucky enough to help plan and be a part of the first all women’s wheelchair rugby team and play in a tournament in Canada! We had shirts made up and named ourselves the Rugby Barbies.
I was also fortunate enough to acquire a handcycle and go out on my own or with larger groups of cyclists. Anything to get myself out and active, really. I have also had the opportunity to try out many other para sports. I enjoyed Curling and fencing for a short time. I have tried Archery, Shooting, cross-country skiing and Sledge Hockey.
Currently, I am really enjoying Boccia and hoping I can continue on with this sport in the future.
Sport always has and always will be a big part of my life, and para sport came into my life at just the right time. To me, para sport is so much more than just getting active. It’s about building a community of people who truly just understand day-to-day life with a disability. I have made lifelong friendships through para sport and have been taught so much about life as someone with a disability that I may have never otherwise learned. With the right tools, equipment, and support, sport truly can be for everyone!
Wheelchair Basketball and Challenger Baseball Player, age 32
When I was growing up, I didn’t get the chance to play sports, and I didn’t know that parasport existed, so I missed out on all those skills and friendships that are built through sports and in childhood. Growing up, I didn’t really have any friends that understood the challenges in my life. It was like I didn’t have anyone who I could really connect with because there was no one like me around.
It wasn’t till my second year of university that I was introduced to my first parasport, wheelchair basketball. I remember walking onto the court and seeing everyone in wheelchairs playing together, laughing, and having fun. Originally, I was just going to go and watch, but the coach, who became one of my good friends, introduced herself and invited me to play.It was the first time in my life that I could remember that I was invited to play a sport. I felt amazing.
Wheelchair basketball was where I met my very best friend. I finally knew what it was like to have a friend like me. Even though we have different disabilities, we just got each other right away. I would not know what I would do in my life without her. We have continued to try different sports together, and I’ve had a great time doing it!
Throughout the years, I have had the opportunity to try numerous sports, and each time I try a sport I’m able to connect with new people, learn new skills, and make more lasting friendships.
Friendship and sports is important, and it would be my dream that every child with a disability, if it is their goal and they want to play a sport that they gets to play it and make the friendships that will last a lifetime.
Archer, Martial artist, Goalball player, age 57
Growing up, I wasn’t a sports person. My vision made me hesitant, and while my siblings played sports from a young age, I held back. Fear—especially the fear of being watched or judged—kept me in what felt like a dark cloud. I wanted to do more, but that fear barricaded me from trying.
It wasn’t until I lost my sight that everything began to change. My partner encouraged me to try new things, and I found myself wanting a change—one I had wished for even before going blind, though not in this way. After six months of total blindness, I began to step in a new direction. I started kickboxing—a martial art I had always wanted to try but never had the courage to pursue.
That was my turning point. Life shifted, and I took a blind step forward, past the dark clouds of fear. A few months into it, I realized: there’s nothing stopping me anymore. I stopped worrying about who might be watching. Blindness made me see that we’re all just people—we each have the capacity for courage, faith, motivation, patience, and trust in ourselves.
Motivation for me comes from that willingness to try, and from the support of family and others who believe in me. I became hungry to do more. And the negative voices—the ones that said, “You can’t do that because you’re blind”—only fueled me more. I’d say back, “Just for that, I’m going to prove to myself I can.” That mindset gave me the biggest leap forward in my life.
Trying different adaptive sports changed everything. Of all of them, goalball has become the one I’m most proud of. It helped me achieve a sense of purpose. As a sport technical officer and a member of an organization that supports others with vision loss, I’ve had the chance to help others explore new activities and reach their goals. Seeing others find motivation—and finding it in myself—makes me feel alive. It’s my inner space, my spirit, and it all comes down to this: I just need to prove it to myself. That’s what makes me tick.
Adaptive runner, age 65
I am a recent wheelchair user, still in the denial stage (less than a year). As an able-bodied person, I was an aging athlete, That believed in fitness for life. That belief was extremely challenging when I became a full-time wheelchair user. If you are new to adaptive sport, like I am, I have asked myself, do I belong. Adaptive sport is equaling the playing field for all to participate in leisure and sport.
Prior to becoming a wheelchair user, I ran and cycled everyday, entering running road races, often finishing in the top ten percent of most races.
One person’s perspective, equals one person’s reality. Early on, while in hospital, a race director (WPS Half Marathon) for one of my favourite races, told me there will always be a spot in our race for you, however it looks. Nearing the end of my long stay in hospital, I bought a used hand-cycle and I started thinking about adaptive running. The adaptive hand cycle needed major repairs and at a ACS event I met people who were able to complete the tune-up at a competitive price.
At this ASC sponsored event allowed me to meet other people of the same mindset. It was a great day that involved a lot of laughter and teasing. I felt like I found my new home, others of like mindset.
Some people refer to using a hand cycle as cycling, where as I refer to my hand cycle as adaptive running. I recently entered the WPS Half Marathon, meeting many of my friends from my running community. It felt great to be part of a community again, my goal is to get others involved in adaptive running. This gave me a sense of belonging to a community.
My next goal is to run the Manitoba Marathon (Full, 26.2 miles), slow and easy, wins the race, whether it is sport or leisure. Another goal is to get other hand cycle users/owners of all abilities, the chance to ride/run together.