He was alive.
That moment...had not been the moment when his life ended.
But...in that moment...EVERYTHING had changed.
And life for Blake Lamontagne would be...forever...different.
At 16, Blake was a very ordinary young man.
“I wanted to stay in my hometown of Wawota,” says Blake. “I was going to be a 'rigger' and a farmer. I wanted to play Senior Hockey. I just wanted to have a normal life.”
Then, Blake made a perfectly normal decision. He got into a truck. The truck rolled...and Blake became a T4 incomplete paraplegic.
That sudden change began a long process of rehabilitation and adjustment. Learning to live in a different body...learning to train that body to serve his will was physically demanding, a painful and sometimes exhausting daily challenge.
Often, it was also unbelievably frustrating.
“You never really think about what has to happen for a place to be accessible...until you are having to maneuver somebody around in a wheelchair,” says Melanie Brimner (Blake's mother). “Going almost anywhere, doing the most ordinary thing, it's all a completely different story when you're going through your day in a chair.”
Not surprisingly, the demands and challenges of this new life sometimes felt like something that was too heavy, too much, too hard. But, early on in his rehabilitation, Blake met a man that burst into his life with an exuberant gusto. That man Clayton Gerein was determined to 'make some waves' and make a difference in Blake's life.
“Clayton was about the second or third person that came into my hospital room. He was just this amazing guy. He had a wife and kids, and was a decorated para-athlete. He taught me, with everything he did, that this was a beginning NOT and end. He told me, 'OK...life is different now. But, you still have a life to live.'”
Fueled by the energy that Clayton poured into him Blake continued to gain strength in both his body and soul. Then, a chance encounter would bring another 'difference-maker' into Blake's life.
“I met Chris Pearson in Craven. He changed my perspective again. Chris showed me that there was a social life there for me. He told me, 'Go and DO YOU and just be happy.' And, those days when he caught me just sitting on the couch and hiding from the world he'd work to get me involved in SOMETHING. He really was an incredible role model for me.”
Having Chris in his life created opportunities that Blake had never considered before his accident.
“Chris was the one that mentioned the idea of working for Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan to me. I've been a client services coordinator with them for just over a year. It's interesting work. I get to be on the other side of the conversation now. When somebody with an injury comes into Wascana now I get to be the one that goes and talks to them.”
Chris was also the person who encouraged Blake to give adaptive water-skiing a try.
“Before my accident, I think I tried water-skiing once, when I was about 12. But, Chris persuaded me to try it. So, I went out to 'Give It A Go Day' at Wascana Lake.”
Another choice...one that would introduce Blake to more people that were determined to make a difference in his life and open up an opportunity that Blake had never dreamed he would ever have.
“After I had gotten off the water at 'Give It A Go Day', Dave Wassill (the Canadian National Coach) came over and offered me an invite to a prospect camp in Florida. I had one of the best times of my life out there. And, I guess I had some potential, as later that year I began training and competing at provincials. It's unfortunate that we don't have enough disabled people skiing to have a full team. But, the scores that I was putting up let me qualify to compete at these levels. I started out a 'one-event skier'. Now, I have worked my way to compete in all three events.”
“Lisa Williams was actually my boat driver on my very first time at 'Give It A Go Day'. She is now my current coach in Regina. Lisa is an able body skier. But, she'd never skied with somebody that had a disability. I'd never really skied before so it's kinda cool that we both started learning together. She is absolutely amazing. When it comes to skiing, there aren't very many times when I call her up in the summer, that she isn't willing to head down to the lake. Her whole family will be out there with me...watching...helping me with my gear and supporting me. I don't have anybody else that comes out to ski in Regina. So ultimately, Lisa and her family ARE my team.”
Water-skiing allowed Blake to see himself as 'able' in an entirely different way.
“It was the adrenaline, the rush that I got from skiing that first drew me. It literally fires me up inside to be able to go out and do the things I can do on the water. There is nothing holding me back out there. And, once I found out that I was good enough to compete at a world level there was no looking back.”
With the help of his coaches and his 'team' Blake competed at the 2016 Disabled Water Ski National Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina. His success there has led to an even more exciting opportunity. On February 05, Blake flew to Australia. For the next two months, he will train with Darryl Hoyle (one of the top skiers in the world and a world-record holder in jump). In April, Blake will represent Canada in the World Disabled Water Ski Championships in Myuna Bay, Australia.
In some ways Blake hopes to achieve the same goals in water-skiing that most athletes work towards. He wants to “win gold”. He wants to “break records”. But, Blake has another...different...goal as well.
“I want to get others involved. I want to introduce other people to the feeling that I had when I first started, and show them the opportunities that are out there waiting. I want to encourage people to just get out there and try it. The people that you get to meet and the opportunities that are waiting for you can change your life. But, you're not going to find that sitting at home on the couch.”
Blake notes that a list of the people that have been 'difference-makers' in HIS life “would fill the entire newspaper”. However, Blake's determination to BE a 'difference-maker' himself (both through his water-skiing and his role as an ambassador for the Rick Hansen Foundation) is in part a testimony to the impact that Chris Pearson and Clayton Gerein (who have both passed away due to cancer) had on him.
“I'm trying to do what Clayton and Chris did. They were REAL. Whenever I would fall into a funk they were there to whip me out of it. I want to do that for others.”
Blake still considers himself an 'ordinary' guy. He admits that “It feels strange sometimes when people tell me that I'm an inspiration. I'm just doing what I have to do to live.”
But Blake does acknowledge that the moment when everything changed in his world...was a moment that has made a POSITIVE difference in his life.
“You hear people say that the hard things that happened to them helped make them a better person. That's actually true. If I had the chance to go back in time and make the choice again I would let that truck roll...again. Don't get me wrong. There was a lot of pain and the tough times just sucked. But, those tough times also taught me things. And I would never have had these opportunities or met all of these amazing people...if the accident hadn't happened.”
“I think that maybe...sometimes...things fall apart...so that something better can come together. I want to let people that are going through the kinds of things I went through to KNOW...there's something else out there for them. They just have to go and find it.”
