2007 Newsletters
A "Freddie" Goes To Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation...Well Deserved!
Nov 3rd, 2007
NEWSLETTER: November 3, 2007 A "Freddie" Goes To...Well Deserved! Erik Presents a Freddie to Fidelco Guidedog Foundation At a Black Tie edited-for-TV gala in Philadelphia this Friday evening, Erik had the pleasure of presenting a Freddie Award to Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation of Bloomfield CT. Fidelco has provided him Wizard, Seigo, and now Willa and, in doing so, has dramatically increased Erik's independence and helped him to accomplish some of his life dreams. At age 16, Erik became the youngest person to receive a Fidelco guide dog. You will get a sense of Erik's deep appreciation for Wizard and Fidelco through this passage which appears in his Touch the Top of the World: Finally the day arrived. I was tired of training, tired of doing interviews. At least on the mountain we would have plenty of uninterrupted time to focus on one simple goal: reaching the top. But at the same time, the day of departure was one of the saddest of my life, because it was also the day I would say good-bye to Wizard. Wizard’s retirement was well timed. In fact, he probably should have retired a year earlier, but I hadn’t been ready to let him go from my life. Just like people, dogs’ bodies eventually break down too. As Wizard passed age eleven, Ellen watched his muzzle go gray, and I noticed my once fast-paced, tireless companion now hobbling along, barely able to keep up. Wizard’s bladder had reverted back to its days of puppyhood, because he would stop and pee in the middle of the sidewalk, in a crowd of pedestrians, or in front of families eating lunch at an outdoor café. In class, in the middle of a lesson, Wiz would whimper and I’d rush him outside, narrowly avoiding an accident. When I touched his coat, it had dulled and lost its smoothness, but none of that would have mattered, except for the fact that I thought it was time for Wiz to enjoy a carefree life, no responsibilities. Originally I wanted to keep Wiz as a pet, but Fidelco had warned that this would be too stressful on Wiz as he watched a younger dog take his place as my guide. So, my brother Eddi had offered to take him. Eddi lived in Pensacola, Florida, on several acres, with a river and a dock behind his house. Wiz loved to swim. In his younger days, we spent many Saturday afternoons playing fetch in the Charles River. I’d throw a tennis ball into the river and Wiz, in supreme athletic style, would sprint down the dock, leap off the edge, and swim back to shore, the ball locked proudly in his jaws. I imagined Wiz, leaping off my brother’s dock, and his mind believing he was young once again. He would finally be able to fill himself with as much table food as his belly could handle: steak bones, pork chops, and apple pie under the table. He could run and sniff and bark to his heart’s content. He could finally just be a dog. In front of our gate, I knelt down in front of Wiz. He was never a lovey-dovey dog, always preferring to play fetch or wrestle in the grass, but this time, I put my arms around him and lay my cheek against his. "Everybody gets old," Ellie said, resting her hand on my back. "It’ll happen to you and me someday." "I know," I said, catching my breath, my tears dropping onto Wizard’s fur, "but it doesn’t make it any easier." For eleven years, Wizard had given me his life, beginning when I was only sixteen, and he had been a big part of opening up a world of opportunity for me. There was absolutely nothing I could say or do that would be enough to thank him. Throughout our whole time together, Wiz was constantly baffling me about the extent of his awareness, one minute running me squarely into a tree branch and, the next, finding the right entranceway to a doctor’s office to which we had never been before. I could never totally predict what he knew, what he sensed, but with my arms around him, I hoped he could sense how much I loved him. I also wondered if Wiz could sense that something was changing. If so, he gave no indication, but just panted in the hot, June weather. It was better that he didn’t know. Let him live in innocence and happiness, I prayed. I knew if Wiz was a human, he wouldn’t be one for long syrupy good-byes, so I made myself stand up and ruffled his ears with my hand. "Good-bye, buddy. Have fun in Florida. Don’t eat too much steak." Then I kissed Ellie, told her how much I’d miss her, and headed down the jetway. Wiz and I would never see each other again, because, sadly, he died only six months later of a massive stroke, but I can only hope that in those last six months of boundless freedom, he lived a lifetime, and that the stroke was caused, in part, from one too many leaps into the river from the end of my brother’s dock. Erik and many blind people owe a huge thanks to Charlie and Robbie Kaman, who founded Fidelco in 1960 and together made it their life work. Fidelco breeds and trains German Shepherds for blind people around the country. Charlie also built the Kaman Corporation into a giant in the field of American aviation. Blind/Sighted Students; Sign Up for 2008 Leading the Way Expeditions Before November 21 Global Explorers, a nonprofit based in Colorado, offers exciting international education programs for blind, visually impaired and sighted high school and college students. Its 2008 "Leading the Way" offerings include Machu Picchu, the Peruvian Andes, and Sounds of the Amazon (see www.globalexplorers.org for more info), Erik will personally participate in the Grand Canyon Rafting adventure from July 24 to August 8. Each program involves leadership training, community service, cultural anthropology and conservation. Mostly, though, they are about sighted and blind people working together toward a great accomplishment. These expeditions help to break down barriers, misconceptions and public prejudices about people with disabilities, and inspire them onto bigger dreams. This year some of the "graduates" of an earlier Leading the Way program with Erik climbed Kilimanjaro. Erik participated in the 2006 trek into Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail, and the 2007 climb in the Peruvian Andes. These expeditions have been featured on ABC Nightline, ABC World News Tonight, and the Travel Channel, and Erik was named ABC's Person of the Week in connection with the Inca Trail adventure. Global Explorers is seeking students who feel that this experience will help their personal growth and discovery. The tuition for each program is $3950. All interested parties are encouraged to apply regardless of financial need. Past participants have raised 30-100% of their program costs, sometimes getting help from Global Explorers' scholarship program. For more information, please contactmeghan@globalexplorers.org or call 877/627-1425. Applications are due by November 21.
Applications Due for Next Summer's Leading the Way Expeditions
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