Denver, CO (Day Off)

We woke up at 7, a nice change from the usual 5 AM wake up. It was also a nice change to wake up on a comfy bed. We went down to the lobby to get the usual breakfast. Unfortunately, there was no continental breakfast, so we had the regular breakfast consisting of half a bagel and cereal.

After breakfast, we headed to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Basically, its an annual Olympics-like set of competitive games for people in wheelchairs. The location of the Games changes every time so we were in the right place at the right time. There was a obstacle course at the Games that was just ridiculous, consisting of sand traps, 15% grade ramps, stairs, and other intense barriers (like a set of doors). After watching all these people fight through their disabilities, and their emotions, and their drive, it was really inspirational. It really made me think, I have no right complaining about my rides. Luckily, I can get off my bike after I’m done with the ride, but these people, they can never get off their “bikes.” There was a quote posted all over the Colorado Convention Center (the location for the Games) that really got to me. “The only disability is a bad attitude.”

After the convention, we had lunch in downtown Denver, per diam. Most of the group decided on BD’s, a Mongolian barbeque restaurant that cooks your food right in front of you. It was really neat talking to the Trans-America team, another Journey of Hope team that started in Seattle and meets us only in Denver and DC. They were pretty chill and we basically shoot the old bull around.

After lunch, we headed straight to Craig Hospital in downtown Denver to play a little quad rugby. Right from the start, I was immediately drawn and impressed by the facility. All the staff and patients say that this facility isn’t a hospital, it’s a home. And after a while, I really saw their perspective. Sure it was a state-of-the-art facilitiy. But more importantly, it was the friendly and casual attitude that impressed me with. The hospital has a huge emphasis on neck and brain injuries, especially rehabilitation.

At first, we heard the stories from some of the quad rugby “rinkrats.”I think it was Jeff, but his story was basically this: he woke up one morning with a pinch nerve. Two hours later, he was paralyzed from the waste down. It made me think, we really don’t know what’s fate got in store from us.

They gave us a quick demo of quad rugby AKA Murder ball. It was basically hockey in wheelchairs. Add a little contact here and there, and its my kind of sport. After the demo, we got to do a 4 minute shift in the game. It was a little more difficult than I thought it would be. In the end, all those pushups ended up helping me, and I ended up scoring a goal. After the shift, my shoulders and biceps killed liked none other, but man, it was fun. After the game, we got a little tour of the hospital. It was really stunning to see the enthusiasm of staff and members. They really strive that, you can do anything you want, it just might be a little different way of doing it.

We departed the hospital and left back to lodging. We only had a limited amount of time, so I scarfed down a street vendor hotdog and we headed to the Rockies game, sponsored by an IU alum Pi Kapp. It was my first Rockies game, and it was a pretty cool experience. We left an inning early, and I really regret that decision, as the Rockies tied the Cardinals in the bottom of the eight and hit a walk off home run in the 9^th. Regardless, it was a fun time, and I had to get back to lodging for a pretty important reason: sleep. I had a little talk with the CEO of Push America, Chad Coltrane, after the game.

I was completely wiped out. Today was a long day, but a great one. I definitely learned a lot today, and that’s all I could hope for.