OM STORIES
Dominatin' Diagnosis
First off, let me say this organization rocks... I've never see anything like it in the neuro-support world. Most stuff out there is WAY too clinical, depressing, and just no fun. This organization is all about living big, despite pesky neuro baggage!
My friend Kyle contacted me a few months ago, asking me if I wanted to grab a cup of coffee. Being a full on 'Joe addict', I naturally took him up on it. That's when he threw out his situation (you all know the story). Knowing Kyle and his 'get at it' dogma, he wasn't gonna let this neuro diagnosis sway his spirit. After an in depth conversation, with ideas flowing, the seeds of Outdoor Mindset were planted.
Kyle thought I might be interested since I was in the non-profit management world in my previous life. He also knew I had uncontrolled epilepsy.
Long story short (bear with me), when I was twelve, I dropped in front of my friend while on summer vacation, and freaked him out pretty good. Turns out it was a grand mal seizure. Lots of tests, and visits with a bald neuro doc later, I was tagged epileptic. Hmm, epilepsy. That's interesting, I thought. So, I got put on some meds and life went on as normal. I eventually grew out of the spastic grand mals, and have had partial complex seizures ever since. I'm now 38.
Thankfully, 95% of my stuff goes on in my sleep. The other 5% have occurred anywhere. On the ice during hockey games, on a glacier in Alaska, or watching TV with friends. They have occurred pretty regularly for the past 26 years. My stance on my diagnosis has always been 'I have epilepsy, no big deal'. Over the years, docs have tried several meds to control my seizures, but they're persistent little buggers. I've failed three meds, and am now on a high dose 'cocktail' of two newer meds- still having weekly seizures. None the less, I've been an avid athlete all my life, and have been adventuring in the mountains on all sorts of toys since 1996.
This status quo changed a bit this past fall when my doc leveled with me. For the first time, the word 'brain surgery' reared its ugly head!
Stay tuned...
The Beginning
A few months ago, our good friend Kyle went to the doctor because he was experiencing some symptoms that just didn't seem right. This led him to an MRI and the eventual discovery of an abnormality in his brain that is most likely a type of benign tumor. In the time between his doctor's appointment and his MRI results, Kyle looked to the internet for information and found no shortage of research and white papers about neurological disorders. What he didn't find was the answer to his biggest question: Regardless of the diagnosis, would he still be able to lead an active, adventurous life?
In the months following his initial MRI, Kyle envisioned an organization that could help people facing neurological challenges connect with others in the outdoors while helping one another through their new post-diagnosis lives. He pulled together a diverse group of people from around Colorado to make his vision a reality.
Since January, we have been meeting regulary to define our vision, mission, values, and by-laws that govern our organization. We have also formed volunteer committees to focus in areas of finance, organizational development, and marketing.
On this journey, we reached a major waypoint last night. We held our first official board meeting at Cantina Laredo in Boulder to vote on our organization's name, affirm board members, and elect an executive committee. Being a part of any company's start up always has defining moments that are funny, exciting, and moving. Last night was all of those things. Funny because we are office-less and meeting in a Mexican restaurant, opening the meeting with each board member's favorite joke, and "knighting" our new officers with steak knives. It was exciting because we finally agreed on our name - Outdoor Mindset, approved our by-laws, affirmed our board of 12 members, and voted on the plan for phase 1 of our website. But most of all, last night was moving because we got to see Kyle's vision and all of our hard work shape up into something very real.
We know that our work has only just begun and are excited to share our journey with you. And so, without further ado...
OUR DREAM SUMMIT/BIG FISH/POWDER DAY:
An active community of individuals affected by neurological challenges leading adventurous lives with no limits.
OUR PATH/ROUTE/TRACK:
We unite and inspire people affected by neurological challenges to live big through a common passion for outdoor adventure.
OUR GEAR:
In the months following his initial MRI, Kyle envisioned an organization that could help people facing neurological challenges connect with others in the outdoors while helping one another through their new post-diagnosis lives. He pulled together a diverse group of people from around Colorado to make his vision a reality.
Since January, we have been meeting regulary to define our vision, mission, values, and by-laws that govern our organization. We have also formed volunteer committees to focus in areas of finance, organizational development, and marketing.
On this journey, we reached a major waypoint last night. We held our first official board meeting at Cantina Laredo in Boulder to vote on our organization's name, affirm board members, and elect an executive committee. Being a part of any company's start up always has defining moments that are funny, exciting, and moving. Last night was all of those things. Funny because we are office-less and meeting in a Mexican restaurant, opening the meeting with each board member's favorite joke, and "knighting" our new officers with steak knives. It was exciting because we finally agreed on our name - Outdoor Mindset, approved our by-laws, affirmed our board of 12 members, and voted on the plan for phase 1 of our website. But most of all, last night was moving because we got to see Kyle's vision and all of our hard work shape up into something very real.
We know that our work has only just begun and are excited to share our journey with you. And so, without further ado...
OUR DREAM SUMMIT/BIG FISH/POWDER DAY:
An active community of individuals affected by neurological challenges leading adventurous lives with no limits.
OUR PATH/ROUTE/TRACK:
We unite and inspire people affected by neurological challenges to live big through a common passion for outdoor adventure.
OUR GEAR:
- Cultivating an online community that connects people based on their diagnosis and outdoor interests.
- Promoting a support network that encourages sharing experiences, resources, and information.
- Supporting regional events and adventure programs to strengthen connections and encourage healing of the body, mind and spirit.
- Quality of life - we believe in living our best lives, connecting with the outdoors and finding opportunity in adversity
- Proactiveness - we believe in taking initiative, staying informed and creating change
- Community - we believe in an open-minded environment where we learn from and support each other
- Inspiration - we live and work in a way that promotes optimism, creativity and fun
- Accountability - we believe in taking ownership of our lives
- Integrity - we believe in honesty, ethics and transparency
- Passion - we exude energy and enthusiasm, and play hard
- Humor - we believe laughter is the best medicine