The Helping Hands

By Kenny Wittmann

I’ll admit it, it was me who got me to where I am today. It was me who used all the tools necessary to succeed in competitive sports. This doesn’t mean that I wasn’t given any support or any motivation to endure this success. There are many figures in my life I have to thank. Without certain individuals caring for me and putting me to the test, I don’t think I would be where I want to be today. Let me mention some of those individuals who brought me to where I am.

As I mentioned in my previous article, I played non-disabled sports when I was growing up as I didn’t discover Para sports until later in my life. I was 7 years old when the first coach I had went out of his way to put me on his house league hockey team, and this allowed me to participate in sports. His name is Joe Condotta. Joe was putting me between the pipes for his hockey team. I couldn’t skate, but I promise you I was always ready in my butterfly position. I remember being put into an article in the Etobicoke newspaper and when I was reading about what Joe said about me, I knew he really wanted me on the team. He wanted me to inspire. “I am ready for any criticism I get from the parents on this team” said Joe. It was easier to save pucks because at a young age the puck wasn’t quite reaching the cross bar so I had a chance at eye level to make the save. I could play the game of hockey and I didn’t even have to skate. The referees would skate me to my crease and come back for me when the goalies had to switch sides. Joe would help with the same actions for practices. I could write a whole article on this hero without a cape, but I have others to mention as well.

At the end of my grade 7 year, it was time for my first surgery. I was so nervous and I didn’t know what to expect after the surgery was done and what type of rehab was in order. All the nerves went right down when I saw a gymnasium with two basketball nets. I remember the nurses telling me that it was recreation night in the gym and that there was a special guest coming for it. His name was Shayne Smith. Shayne lost the lower part of his limbs when he was12 years old. The blood stopped pumping in parts of his body. At the time he was a point guard for Team Ontario Wheelchair Basketball. (Today he plays Wheelchair Rugby.) As we started playing, I noticed all the cameras and media that were joining in on the action as we were playing basketball. I had the privilege to be interviewed by the Globe and Mail Newspaper about how I felt being in a sports wheelchair. “I love the speed, I feel like I’m in a car” I remember telling them. Shayne was by my side at this moment and I remember him saying in his half of the interview what it meant to be disabled and to play sports. “We can do anything they can do, we just do it in our own unique way” he said as he pointed to everyone who was not disabled on the sidelines as the wheelchair basketball continued on the court. I will never forget that message he sent to me and many other fighting a battle they will eventually conquer. The motto at Bloorview Kids Rehab Center (in Toronto) was “From disability to possibility” and let me tell you, the possibilities were endless when I finally left the rehab centre a few months later.

Let’s fast forward now to 4 years later when I was back at Bloorview again for my 2nd operation. This was hard for me as I missed my high school graduation. One week after surgery I celebrated my 18th birthday in the hospital bed with cake and my family by my side. This time around I was the king of the castle in the rehab center, being the oldest patient in the records at the time. This meant that I was a role model for all the patients there because after all, I was a veteran in this facility. I was the ‘go to guy’ for any events going on at the rehab. They kept me busy, as they invited me be on a health and safety poster, doing a video with the CEO, who at the time Sheila Jarvis, that was displayed all over the world to pediatric facilities for kids. My favourite event is where my next helping hand comes in.

The next event I was asked to take part in was the visit from some of the Toronto Blue Jays players. The one I was most interested in was Colby Rasmus. I greeted him out front of Bloorview and brought him and the other players down to the gymnasium where I was 4 years earlier. He shook my hand and I had trouble feeling it for a minute after. We played wheelchair baseball in the gym and of course the Mascot “Ace” was there to help cheer us on. Colby came to bat and did what he does best. He crushed one to straight away center reaching the highest point of the wall at the other side of the gym. After hitting an “inside the park home run, he approached me and whispered “take that jackass” as we both laughed and smiled.

After the event as I went up the elevator to escort the Blue Jay players, Colby asked me if I would like to attend batting practice and the game that night as the L.A Dodgers were in town. I didn’t even hesitate as me and another friend at the rehab went for Game 1 of the 3 game set. At batting practice I received a signed hat from Jose Reyes, and a bat from J.P Arencibia that I still have to this day. I will never forget the smiles on all the kids faces at the rehab and the generosity that Colby had displayed for me. I was interviewed by The Toronto Star and had my photo right in the front of the sports section the next day! To be the spokesperson for this event and to be a part of it was the coolest thing ever.

I have so many people I can mention who have guided me and helped me through all these years. Coaches, teachers, family, friends, and those people who I may not have known but who was respectful for who I was. I am truly grateful for the encounters I have endured in my life so far and I can’t wait for what the future holds. A person can be anything they want in life, and it is always nice to have some helping hands along the way

August 4, 2016