Rowing offers unique freedom
Patti Michaud described a photograph in detail to a woman who is blind.
She painstakingly pointed out the colors and the positioning of the two people in the picture.
Anyone who knows Michaud, 46, of Greenfield, would not be surprised she would take the time to do that. She is the type of person who understands what it is like to deal with adversity every day.
She lost her left leg at the age of 13.
"I see people's abilities, not their disabilities," Michaud said. "People can accomplish anything if they have the right attitude, and they put the time into it, and if they have the right support around them."
Michaud certainly is proof of that.
She is an experienced rower who has won seven national championships and more than 50 gold medals, some against able-bodied women. Michaud has a wall full of ribbons, medals, plaques and trophies.
She will go for more during the 20th annual Head of the Ohio Rowing Regatta on Saturday on the Allegheny River. Michaud will compete in the adaptive doubles competition at 8 a.m. with Cate Reynolds, 17, from Philadelphia.
The event attracts rowers from juniors to masters, Olympians, and collegiate and high school athletes. It is one of the largest one-day regattas in the country.
At 1 p.m., there will be a Lottie McAlice Stake Race. In 1870 at the age of 16, McAlice won a one-mile sculling contest on the Monongahela River. Rowers, ages 14-18, will compete in a 1,000-meter race.
Michaud is involved in the Adaptive Rowing program at Three Rivers Rowing Association on Washington's Landing. There are 23 members and 30 volunteers. Michaud was instrumental in getting blind rower Tami Swiantek out in a single by talking her through the moves.
"One of my favorite things to do is row with her," said Swiantek, who lives on the South Side. "She rows so hard at the finish line sometimes she almost ejects herself out of the boat. She has a heck of a determination."
Michaud learned persistence as a teenager.
She was born with a left leg that was larger and had more veins and arteries than the right. The condition affected her heart, which already had undergone two operations when she was a child, so doctors suggested she have the leg amputated.
When Michaud was in high school, she used an uncomfortable, prosthetic leg that had to be fastened around her rib cage. Three different joints had to be lined up for it to work properly, so now she uses crutches.
"My parents have always instilled in me that there wasn't anything I couldn't do," she said.
Michaud, who has worked at Mellon Bank for 24 years, offers support to others.
She often rows with her eyes closed so she can experience what the feeling is like for Swiantek. That's why Michaud took time to explain the photo to Swiantek.
"Obviously, for people who can see I would just hand them the photo, and we would talk about it, but Tami likes to hear about pictures," Michaud said. "I guess I am just in the habit of describing things to her. There are times we are racing that I will tell her how close we are to the finish or to the competition. There is a trust we have developed."
It wasn't easy for Michaud to learn rowing. At the outset, in 1984, she had trouble with balance. Plus, the equipment was not as advanced as it is today.
The only Head of the Ohio race she missed was in 2000, when she was involved in an automobile accident. She flipped her car 4 1/2 times and was hanging from her seatbelt upside down. She broke her tailbone and injured her shoulder. The car was demolished.
Michaud spent a month in a wheelchair, unable to get out of the house.
"I just kept seeing grass and then sky, grass and then sky when I was in that car," Michaud said. "I wanted to get out of the car because I thought it might blow up. You really do see your life flash before you."
But Michaud was resilient, just like all members of the adaptive program.
"The adaptive rowing program is really an important program to Three Rivers Rowing Association," said Mike Lambert, executive director of Three Rivers Rowing and Head of the Ohio race director. "Rowing gives these individuals a chance to not be bound by wheelchairs, crutches, sight dogs or canes."
Additional Information:
On the water
What: The 20th annual Head of the Ohio Rowing Regatta
Where: Allegheny River -- starts at Washington's Landing and finishes at the North Shore past PNC Park.
When: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday
