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| Dave on the slate, North Wales. |
A good day in the quarries on the slate to give Jay a days real rock practice before we fly over to the Pyrenees in a few days.
It was good for Jay to meet Dave because of Dave's hidden disability ( Dave was in a serious motor bike accident leaving him brain damaged with various after effects. )
"I have persistent post concussion syndrome ( basically permanent concussion symptoms forever: affecting memory, concentration, attention span, confusion, sensory overload, anxiety), central vestibular disorder, vestibular dysfunction in both ears (both mean I have no sense of balance, I have to focus on fixed objects ahead of me to use as a tilt guide, like the dial in a plane), REM sleep disorder leaving me unable to get regenerative sleep, post traumatic migraine, moderate to severe depression. Finally the worst, complete change in personality, as in Dave version 1 died on 08/09/07, a new Dave is who you know. Commonly called frontal lobe syndrome..."
I've been to various Paraclimbing Competitions with Dave, most recently Gijon at the World Championships where he came 4th in his category. An exceptional guy!
When I first met Dave I thought why is he here amongst such obviously disabled and challenged paraclimbers but that was my mistake and spending more and more time with him has lead to a greater understanding of him and his hidden disability. I realized I had been an asshole and I even think I like him now!
That's the thing with all this... You don't need to like people with a disability by default. That's something else? People are people, and some are nice and some can be assholes. I wouldn't say I have gotten to know all the team yet nor do I like their assholes. But the more time I have with them climbing and coaching the more growth they give me as a more caring human being. Sorry about the asshole comment but it was just a running theme!
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| Phil and Dave |
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