The pain of my personal defeat, physical breakdown, at the CRASH-B’s lingered with me for several months afterwards. One of the biggest disappointments I had was carrying around the fact that I broke the promise I made of showing people that an amputation did not have to end their lives. With more and more of my past sports related injuries haunting me with the need of operations, and the unknowingness, amazement of the variety of adaptive rowing equipment that had been developed, I had to adapt my promise, my way of thinking. If I couldn’t lead by athletic example, I would do so academically. To achieve this, I needed a platform, a conduit to voice not just my experiences in abled and disabled body physical exercise and sports, but also the information that exists on adaptive sports, especially adaptive rowing. I arrived at the decision to go back to school, research and write.
My extended path, my new journey started with researching a college or university to attend. I possessed a master’s degree, so my option would be to achieve the next level of academia, a doctoral degree. At this level I could use the required dissertation as my voice and the earning of a doctorate for my validity. I would be covering both fronts; walk the walk (athletics) and, talk the talk (academia), in that order. Being disabled and basically being designated to my home, I was looking for an institution that offered on-line courses. But I was particular in my search. I did not want to go the easy way and earn a degree advertised on the back of a matchbook cover, quick and easy. I wanted a real institution, college campus, buildings, students and teachers. I wanted something I could touch and be proud of, to be a part of after it was all said and done.
My research resulted in choosing Grand Canyon University located in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a real university, an up-coming NCAA Division 1 school with sports, with students, with buildings. And it was the largest private, non-profit, Christian university in the world. I believe my requirements had been fulfilled. Sports, people, buildings, the availability for me to learn/participate long distance, and the Lord overseeing it all. That would be classified as a ‘Yahtzee’ in the gaming world. I placed my telephone call to the University, spoke to an advisor and started the enrollment process. When the dust settled, my first day of course work started on October 31st, 2013.
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