Program teaches paddling while healing emotional side effects of cancer

By JORDAN DAWSON / Bigfork Eagle

"The first day I wanted to go home. I was thinking it was absolutely crazy and I didn't want to do it just because everyone else was," Christina Trieweiler, of Whitefish, said of her first day of kayaking with First Descents, an outdoor adventure program for young adults who have battled with cancer.

By the second day Trieweiler, 27, felt more confident and was glad she decided to participant in First Descents. She was one of thirteen participants at this week's kayaking camp in West Glacier.

"It's been nice to be around other young adults that had cancer without the focus being on cancer," she said.

First Descents founder Brad Ludden, 27, who is originally from Kalispell, began kayaking as a kid and is now known as one of the best professional kayakers in the world. He was traveling around the world after high school when he realized that he wanted to kayak as a full time occupation, but also wanted to find a way to share the sport with others.

When Ludden was a teenager his aunt was diagnosed with cancer and his mom volunteered at oncology camps, which Ludden later helped her with. This inspired him to combine his love of kayaking with his compassion for cancer survivors.

"For someone as young as he is to do this is incredible," said First Descents Director of Development, Whitney Bell. "His entrepreneurship and his foresight to see that something like this was needed is amazing. And for him to get his family and everyone he knows involved is great. His enthusiasm for helping people spreads to everyone here. The participants just light up when he's around."

Ludden met Corey Nielsen, from Colorado, at the Southeast Asia Whitewater Festival and the two began swapping ideas, and eventually deciding to start a kayaking camp for youth cancer survivors. They wanted to teach them to kayak with other survivors to address the emotional issues that arise with cancer, like self-esteem, identity and self image. The first camp was in Colorado and was staffed by Ludden's family.

"We realized that first summer that rivers, water and good community can heal," Nielsen said.

Now eight years and 23 camps later, First Descents has grown into a much larger program. The program has grown 300 percent throughout the program over the last year according to Ludden. They have added a mountaineering camp in Wyoming and a couples camp in Idaho, as well as adding additional kayaking camps. There are now four kayaking camps in West Glacier, two in Colorado and one in California.

"The majority of our programs are in Montana," Ludden said. "We attribute that to the passion of the people in the valley and their incredible support. We are so thankful to them."

Ludden's goal is to eventually include 1,000 people each year in the camps, which are open to people who have been diagnosed with cancer between thea ages 18 to 39.

"Young adult cancer is such an under-served and fast growing demographic that we almost feel guilty for not growing faster," Ludden said.

With all this growth the mission hasn't changed. They still keep the groups small, allowing no more than 15 participants, and the camp is free for participants as it has been since the beginning.

"I think we've created a really good, solid, stable ground to build on geographically and with other outdoor programs," Ludden said.

The program cost about $1,000 per participant plus operating costs of the organization. The majority of funding for First Descents comes from annual giving campaigns, grassroots events, an annual gala in Vail, major donors, local giving, and grants.

"Out biggest challenge is funding, but I've always said cost should never be a limiting factor," Ludden said.

The program is the only one of its kind in the world for this age demographic. It gives participants a chance to get away from the stress and burden of cancer, and have fun while challenging themselves and meeting other people they can relate to on a multitude of levels.

"When you have cancer everything you do focuses on your health, but First Descents focuses on your life," explained Kelsey Wolfe, 20, of Boulder, Colo. "Doctors teach you about taking care of yourself, but First Descents teaches you about living your life."

Wolfe has attended eight First Descents camps in the last five years and is an ambassador for the program and an associate camp counselor.

"First Descents teaches you that even if you're going through a really tough time that there are still good things out there," Wolfe said. "And it helps you realize how you want to live your life."

Brian Wickman, 32, of New York City, attended First Descents kayaking program in Colorado last year and participated in the Montana program this week in West Glacier.

"I think it's inspiring to be around the other participants," Wickman said. "There's something different about being out of the hospital and away from family and work. It's nice to be in an environment where you don't have to talk about cancer. You can just be in a supportive environment."

That is exactly the scenario that Ludden and Nielsen have worked to create. Both big kids themselves, they want to give participants a place to enjoy life, challenge themselves and work on personal issues without having to deal with cancer itself.

Only three members of the staff are paid. The rest are volunteers. They act as camp counselors, fund-raisers, safety paddlers, medical staff, recruiters and they spread awareness about the program. There is a Montana committee in Kalispell comprised of locals who help with fund-raising, program organization and gear collection and help in many ways when the camp is in town, including getting people to donate dinners to the camp and acting as camp moms.

"It continues to amaze me that it is staffed almost completely by volunteers, completely selfless people," Wickman said. "You know they are here because they really want to be."

First Descents is currently being studied by Duke University to scientifically prove the healing effects of the program.

"The feedback we've gotten from past participants is that they've experienced tangible evidence of emotional healing," Nielsen said.

The staff seems to get some healing of their own during camp, as well as a chance to have some fun. Ludden and Nielsen can be found spearheading slip and slide races and playing volleyball with participants. They are the life of the camp always making sure that everyone is having fun, and everyone is laughing.

"I just get a really clear perspective on life after spending time with these guys," Ludden said "Over the year things get kind of cloudy, but when I come back here things come into perspective and I realize how fortunate I am."