Minnesota veterans' kayaking program offers safe haven, camaraderie

It doesn't take the tattoo on her hip of the sergeant's stripes and the Marine motto "Semper Fidelis" to tell that Patricia Fields has a been-there-done-that attitude.

She's focused and calm as she's about to strap on a helmet and click into a life vest to kayak for the first time in her life. In a few moments, she'll slip into a boat with the express purpose of tipping it over.

If Fields were being tested, it would have been enough just getting to the Edinborough Park pool in Edina to participate in a program that gives veterans like her, with physical and psychological wounds, the chance to stretch their comfort zones.

The program is a collaboration of the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Hospital, the Three Rivers Park District and the Minneapolis chapter of Team River Runner, a nonprofit that offers adaptive paddling programs to veterans and their families.

The group provides access to the programs throughout the year but uses the Edina pool every other Friday during the winter, providing a challenging but safe haven for veterans who might prefer one another's company away from the institutional surroundings of the VA.

"It's a nice way to make connections and try it out for the first time," said Megan Kelzenberg, recreational program coordinator for the park district.

Particularly in the pool setting, kayaking offers veterans a physical challenge under careful tutelage. But it also tests the psychological boundaries of a group that is especially susceptible to isolation and withdrawal.

"It's anything from the physical aspect of what they are able to do within their physical limitations — traumatic brain injury, vision loss, the loss of a limb — to the emotional component, being able to trust again," said Kristin Powell, the Minneapolis VA's polytrauma outpatient TBI recreation therapist.

"We want to empower them, provide them with a skill set. Our veterans want to be doing things with other veterans."

Building camaraderie

More than 80 veterans have participated in the program since it began in 2011. Success is judged by more than mastering the Eskimo roll. On some days, a vet may show up simply to watch from poolside.

On a recent Friday, one vet moved from a sit-on-top kayak to sitting on the pool deck in a kayak cockpit. The hope is that in the next session, he'll be comfortable enough to get into the water.

Veterans with traumatic brain injuries often have difficulty recalling a series of commands. So even the process of pulling off a spray skirt after a wet entry into the water can prove daunting. A veteran who may have suffered trauma in a vehicle might have anxiety being in a confined space — and few places can be more confining than the cockpit of a kayak.

Kayaking also can offer a range of experiences, from the serenity of recreational paddling to the thrill of whitewater, which can appeal to the military's adrenaline-fueled nature.

"A lot of veterans identify with that," said Brian Jensen, an Air Force veteran and a leader with Team River Runner. "When you are going down a whitewater river you have to rely on your friends for safety. The team approach is very similar to the military. Combat veterans, in particular, are used to high levels of adrenaline and excitement and camaraderie that they get from their circumstances. You can build that same kind of camaraderie facing those same kind of dangers on the river."

The program was recommended to Army National Guard veteran Jodi Martinez to enhance her quality of life and to help figure out creative ways to address the isolation she felt after suffering a traumatic experience in the military.

"When I'm in a kayak I am able to put everything on the shelf for a while and be present. That is a level of peace and purpose I hadn't felt in a very long time," she said. "I also realized how much I had missed being physically active."

Martinez has enjoyed it so much that she participated in a national paddling program for women veterans through Team River Runner. She's now considering her own opportunities to volunteer, something she would have been hesitant about before becoming involved.

"Being with other women veterans who have similar experiences to me helped me realize that I'm not alone, and there is a sisterhood that I can call on to chat with that 'get it,' " she said.

Plans to return

Fields was in the Marines from 1996 to 2001 until an injury and botched surgeries to her ankles ended her military career. She said post-traumatic stress disorder has made it a challenge for her to get about.

After completing her first session in the pool, Fields said she'd return. She liked the social aspect, being around other veterans, "because I don't have to explain myself or translate everything I say."

The physical challenge on this day didn't compare to Marine swim qualification, which required survival in water wearing a Kevlar vest and a helmet while carrying an eight-pound rifle. But it did rekindle memories of a military career cut short.

"If I can continue to meet other veterans who deal with the same things I do, I don't feel so awkward, I don't feel so out of step," Fields said. "The culture and the ideals, the mind-set, is very different from military life to civilian life. In retrospect, being able to do something recreationally with other veterans, it's kind of getting back to where I was when I was fit for duty."

Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434