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Nothing Is Impossible
By Ernie Noordenbos
It was impossible for our family to prepare for or even
imagine the life changing event which occurred when our son
Kevin was involved in an automobile accident on February 13,
2003. Kevin suffered a closed head injury which put him in a
coma for four months. Kevin spent a total of eight months in
the hospital and another year and a half in rehabilitation.
Initially Kevin was not expected to survive and required
surgeries due to the life threatening complications. We were
told that if Kevin lived through the first four weeks, there
was a less than 25% chance that Kevin would ever leave the
hospital. Kevin’s mother, Marilyn, quit her job the day of
the accident and stayed with him to help with his care and
recovery. Marilyn said she would never leave her son alone
and she would be bringing Kevin home with her. Through the
Grace of God and a mother’s love, eight months after the
accident, Marilyn brought Kevin home.
Kevin was not the
same boy that he once was. He could not walk or talk.
His mind was like that of a very young child. I
struggled with my emotions and it took some time for me
to realize that I had to give up the “Kevin” we had and
be thankful for the new “Kevin” we had now. I do not
know why our family was given this journey, but I do
know we have been blessed by it.
Everyone in our
family hunts. We hunt all the seasons; archery,
muzzleloader and rifle. We were not sure if Kevin would
ever be able to hunt again. Kevin was determined that
his disabilities would not stop him. Kevin was in an
outpatient rehabilitation program with intensive physio
and speech therapy. We were beginning to understand his
speaking and he could walk short distances with
assistance. We made modifications in our hunting tactics
and made the extra effort needed to get Kevin out
hunting. Five weeks after Kevin came home from the
hospital, he got a whitetail buck with his muzzleloader.
Three weeks later, in almost a foot of snow, his brother
Jeff got his wheelchair into a wooden box blind with a
small propane heater. Kevin harvested another whitetail
buck. Kevin has continued to harvest some trophy class
bucks over the last few years but has been unable to
participate in the archery seasons. Kevin’s walking and
talking has greatly improved but he is still very much
disabled. He cannot stand to shoot as his balance is
impaired and he has reduced upper body mobility. He can
shoot a crossbow and a rifle using a rest, but is unable
to shoot a conventional bow.
In
2004, we started the process of trying to obtain a
permit which would allow Kevin to use a crossbow during
the archery seasons because of his disabilities. I wrote
many letters and met with government representatives
explaining Kevin’s situation, but the outcome was always
the same. No crossbow permit! We were told that we
needed more support from other interested groups before
the Minister of Manitoba Conservation would endorse the
changes to Manitoba’s policy on the use of crossbows. I
called numerous groups asking for support in our
endeavors but even though they sympathized with us, they
would not support us.
We continued our
struggle over the next three years and even though we
made some progress, we still had no success in reaching
our goal. While reading my issue of “Bowhunter”
magazine in January 2007, I became aware of the
organization called the Physically Challenged Bowhunters
of America Inc. We became members and received an
information package from Karen Vought the secretary. I
was over whelmed at what this organization has done for
physically challenged people all across the US and
Canada. How they are working with other organizations
and governments to make necessary changes to allow the
use of adaptive archery equipment. The next step I took
was to talk to Frank Zsenak, PCBA president. This was
one of the most enlightening conversations that I had
since we started our task three years earlier. One thing
Frank told me, which I will never forget is, “The key to
gaining support for the use of a crossbow or other
adaptive equipment is education. Most people are unaware
of the special equipment and the need for the disabled
bowhunters.”
We started meeting
with government officials in person so they could get to
know Kevin. We attended a large 3-D archery tournament
and had a table with all the literature Karen could send
us on display. Archers and bowhunters saw for themselves
what Kevin had to go through just to shoot a crossbow,
not to mention trying to hunt. PCBA information, letters
from members and signed petitions were sent to the
Manitoba Wildlife Federation, Archers and Bowhunters
Association of Manitoba, Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters
Associations, Members of Parliament and other government
departments. The various groups were becoming educated
in regards to the needs of physically challenged
bowhunters and our support was rapidly growing.
Our efforts were
strengthened in early September 2007, when PCBA members
Frank Zsenak, Cliff Willever, Phillip Muller, Patti Ann
Ridgway and Jim Morella were in Minnedosa, Manitoba for
some archery deer and bear hunting. We met with key
representatives from Manitoba Conservation to discuss
the importance of the needed changes to the regulations.
These key officials have been working over the winter
months on these changes and just need to finalize some
details. We have been told that the Province of Manitoba
will be allowing the use of crossbows and other
different adaptive equipment for all archery seasons by
means of a special permit starting in 2008. After four
years, our quest and Kevin’s dream was about to become a
reality.
This struggle, like
Kevin’s recovery, was lengthy and often times very
discouraging. The setbacks only made us stronger, making
us push harder. Through it all, we met some
extraordinary and wonderful people who gave us the
strength and support to reach our goal. Our appreciation
goes out to each and every one of you. We wish to thank
the PCBA and especially Frank Zsenak and Karen Vought
for your dedication and enthusiasm for the great job you
are doing for the PCBA.
Nothing is
impossible!! Have faith and never give up and remember
you don’t have to do it on your own!
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Physically
Challenged Bowhunters of America Inc.
2152 Route 981, New
Alexandria
PA
15670
President Frank Zsenak, NJ frankpcba@comcast.net
Secretary/Treasurer Karen Vought, PA
mkvought@comcast.net
VP Aubrey Gale, MI Aubrey@scentlok.com
Past President Drew McCartney
macs@gorhamtel.com
Board Members:
Marvin Vought, PA superquad07@comcast.net
Kent Davis, KS kdavis@cmselectric.com
Steve Bricker, WY
ctranch@collinscom.net
John Brod, IN
JRBROD1@aol.com
Jake Jacobsen, OH jakebeau@earthlink.net
Skip Lloyd, KS
bowhunt@ucom.net
Renee Dean, IL
reneemdean@gmail.com
Mark Bergin, NY
mbergin1@nycap.rr.com
Physically Challenged
Bowhunters of America, Inc.
Copyright 2001-2008
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