A tragic accident can leave a person feeling hopeless, angry and depressed. It changes a person’s life, and for some, it can bring a whole new sense of purpose.
This happened for Carson Nyenhuis of Grandville. A motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the chest down.
“During my recovery and going through that, I got home and I had broken wrists so I couldn’t wheel around,” says Nyenhuis. “I had a chest brace on up to my neck. I couldn’t do a whole lot of moving.”
Nyenhuis says he became depressed and left him with a sense of hopelessness.
“I didn’t know where I was going from there and I luckily had a great group of friends and family that kind of encouraged me to get out and enjoy the things I used to do and love before,” he says.
To encourage him, Nyenhuis’ friends physically lifted him up and took him outside to hunt.
“I had some buddies, forcefully, carry me out hunting and took me back out into the woods and it was something I used to love before,” he says. “Once I got out there I literally forgot about all my injuries, disabilities and everything. Once I saw the deer going across the field it was just really cool. It kind of sparked me out of my depression ”
That one moment changed his perspective, and his life’s mission.
“It opened my eyes,” he says. “I’ve got a lot of life to live and stuff to do and for the next few months after this happened.”
His mission became helping people with different abilities connect with nature – healing through the outdoors.
“I come across friends that don’t have this opportunity,” he says. “They can’t get out and do stuff whether it’s hunting or walking around nature and so we came up with this idea.”
His vision, now a reality, is to give people an accessible outdoor experience whether it is hunting, walking or, maybe soon, fishing. The Hunt 2 Heal lodge is deep in the woods with fully accessible amenities; including, washer and dryer, master bedrooms, kitchen and fire pit with a gorgeous view.
“We wanted to have a lodge with different rooms that we could accommodate people in to make it fully accessible,” he says. “The whole point of it is, it’s hard for disabled people to get out in the woods let alone go on a hunting trip and feel comfortable using the amenities -the shower, the bathrooms- all that stuff.”
Everything is free. People can apply through the Hunt 2 Heal . Nyenhuis and his team vet the applicants, interview them and take care of the costs. Caregivers are also welcome to stay.
For those that like to hunt but may not be able to use their legs or hands, they have a solution.
“We have one off-road wheelchair and we’re working to get more,” he says. “We have UTV. Also a gun turret for people that can’t use hands- they sip into it and puff into it to pull the trigger.”
Carson likes bird watching, fishing and mushroom hunting, in addition to hunting, so he hopes to provide activities for people to enjoy year round, in the future.
Hunt 2 Heal is possible through donations, as a registered 501(c) 3. One way to support the non-profit is attending Carson’s Walk n’ Roll Challenge on Sept. 19th. You can register today to walk, run, bike or roll while having fun and raising funds to support the H2H Program.
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