Bret Leach

Bret and Todd (Bret is in close up), early morning before a ride, infusing the clotting factor to treat severe hemophilia.By infusing prior to riding, they can effectively
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That was about three and a half years ago, when Wing and co-founder Bret Leach of Salyer were at a river camp discussing disabilities in general, and specifically how important it was for Leach, as a disabled person, to get out on the river.
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Leach, 43, president of DAO, has hemophilia -- a hereditary disease that prevents normal blood clotting, resulting in sometimes uncontrolled bleeding.He is at times on crutches or in a wheelchair due to internal joint bleeding.For years, Leach had brought people with hemophilia from the San Francisco Bay area and central California up here to do river trips with Wing.
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"Bill would put together guides and a trip for us," said Leach, who acted then as the "gatherer."
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Since then, Leach, as a counselor and then a director for summer camps for hemophiliacs, says he saw a need in those camps "for something for the older guys, the teens and older.Some special kind of program that would help them discover that, in fact, the only limits that they have are really limits that other people put on them.""We were sitting around the campfire and Bill said something to the effect of, `You know, with the number of people with disabilities out there, I can see that they're not getting the river exposure that I'd like to see them get.' I said, `What can we do about that, Bill?' and he said, `I think we should start a foundation.' And from that, Disabled Adventure Outfitters sprang up."About six months later, Wing, Leach and two others, Kyle Bebb and Steve Keale, each put in $250 to pay for incorporation.
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"Those were the four people who really came together in the beginning to make it happen," said Leach.The nonprofit organization serves people with a wide variety of disabilities,"everything from multiple sclerosis to cancer," said Leach.The activities DAO provides can be for individuals, as in Garret's case, or for groups of children or adults ranging from one-day river trips to week-long adventure camps.This summer alone, the events have included a camp for hemophiliac teens, a river float in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management for 43 pediatric cancer patients from Mercy Hospital in Redding and their families, and another river expedition with developmentally disabled adults.The camps and other activities, such as taking Garret out on the lagoon, are at no charge to the participants (except for, in some cases, a minimal registration fee).Wing, Leach and others, with their combined commitment to DAO, have several ideas for the future of the organization.
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"At this point we really don't have (an ATV) program because we don't have the equipment," said Leach."We've been using our own private stuff for small trips, but until we get a good amount of ATVs we really can't do the program the way we want to do it."Leach has experienced the thrill and gratification an ATV outing can provide people with disabilities.Hesitant at first, Wing said he finally convinced Leach to give it a try."It was like having new legs for me," said Leach.
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Plans call for Bret, Todd and another DAO veteran, Terry (all three disabled by hemophilia and its many complications), to ride Utah's Paiute Trail next week.Leaving the starting point of Marysvale, the group intends on completing the trail system in three days.The Paiute Trail excursion is an exploratory ride for possible future client-based adventures. (Look for a follow-up article on the DAO Paiute Trail adventure.)As for equipment, Bret and Todd will both have Honda ES (electric shift) machines.

Bret Leach, Founding Member

[ photo of Bret Leach and Bill Wing ]
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Bret Leach and Bill Wing head for shore
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That was about three and a half years ago, when Wing and co-founder Bret Leach of Salyer were at a river camp discussing disabilities in general, and specifically how important it was for Leach, as a disabled person, to get out on the river.Leach, 43, president of DAO, has hemophilia -- a hereditary disease that prevents normal blood clotting, resulting in sometimes uncontrolled bleeding.He is at times on crutches or in a wheelchair due to internal joint bleeding.

For years, Leach had brought people with hemophilia from the San Francisco Bay area and central California up here to do river trips with Wing.
...
Bill would put together guides and a trip for us, said Leach, who acted then as the gatherer..
...
Since then, Leach, as a counselor and then a director for summer camps for hemophiliacs, says he saw a need in those camps for something for the older guys, the teens and older.Some special kind of program that would help them discover that, in fact, the only limits that they have are really limits that other people put on them..

We were sitting around the campfire and Bill said something to the effect of, `You know, with the number of people with disabilities out there, I can see that they're not getting the river exposure that I'd like to see them get.' I said, `What can we do about that, Bill?' and he said, `I think we should start a foundation.' And from that, Disabled Adventure Outfitters sprang up..

About six months later, Wing, Leach and two others, Kyle Bebb and Steve Keale, each put in $ 250 to pay for incorporation.
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Those were the four people who really came together in the beginning to make it happen, said Leach.

[ photo of group ]A group of adult hemophiliacs by the river

The nonprofit organization serves people with a wide variety of disabilities, everything from multiple sclerosis to cancer, said Leach.The activities DAO provides can be for individuals, as in Garret's case, or for groups of children or adults ranging from one-day river trips to week-long adventure camps.This summer alone, the events have included a camp for hemophiliac teens, a river float in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management for 43 pediatric cancer patients from Mercy Hospital in Redding and their families, and another river expedition with developmentally disabled adults.

The camps and other activities, such as taking Garret out on the lagoon, are at no charge to the participants (except for, in some cases, a minimal registration fee).

During a recent camp for hemophiliac teens, 15 boys (hemophilia affects mostly males) ages 13 to 17 spent a week based at Rainbow Lake near Burnt Ranch.
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We take them down class III and IV rapids, said Leach, emphasizing that the campers also learn river safety and rescue techniques.They spend a lot of time in the water..

They also do rock jumping.They were jumping from a 12-foot rock into a pool ... We challenge them in a safe manner.They're doing things that they probably never imagined that they would do, Leach said.

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Leach pointed out that the camp helps the kids with self-empowerment and improves their self-esteem as a result.The camp really treats them maybe in a way they haven't been treated before, said Leach.A lot of families tend to become overprotective with people with disabilities and very cautious in what they can do.And society in general tends to put limits, or at least tends to view people with disabilities as being limited in the things that they can do ... So to give these guys this type of opportunity, it's such a positive thing.It's incredible.At the end of camp, the kids are teary-eyed.I'm teary-eyed..

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As someone who remembers going to school in a wheelchair and on crutches, Leach understands the issues these kids face.It made me a stronger person.Those kinds of things will either make or break you, he said.

Treatment of hemophilia was different when Leach was growing up.When he had a problem with one of his legs, it was put in a cast and left on for so long that his leg atrophied.When the cast came off, he and his mother were told he would never walk again.He was 12 years old.

Fortunately, through the hard work of my mother, bless her heart, she forced me to walk again, Leach said.

Later on in life therapies became available that allowed me to pre-treat myself, so if I was going to have a high activity level day I could take my medication intravenously, and it would give me protection over a certain amount of time, said Leach.

The unfortunate thing, he said, is in the early `80s he was using a product made from whole blood.As a result of that I got kind of a double whammy, so not only was I hemophiliac at that point, but because I was being exposed to the blood supply, I then also became an AIDS patient.So I've got a kind of a dual disability..

But the river and the people he's met in its context, he said, have made his life complete.That's kind of my medicine for my AIDS ... I get in a boat and go out on the river..

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Wing, Leach and others, with their combined commitment to DAO, have several ideas for the future of the organization.
...
At this point we really don't have (an ATV) program because we don't have the equipment, said Leach.We've been using our own private stuff for small trips, but until we get a good amount of ATVs we really can't do the program the way we want to do it..

Leach has experienced the thrill and gratification an ATV outing can provide people with disabilities.Hesitant at first, Wing said he finally convinced Leach to give it a try.

It was like having new legs for me, said Leach.I can't hike anywhere anymore.My knees are just not in shape to do that, so I had to give that up.The only way I was able to get into the back country was in a Jeep or a truck or something, and even then, you can only get so far..

With the ATV, he said, I could go places that I couldn't ever walk to and oh, man, I can't tell you the feeling that gave me. And then, like Bill, I wanted to give that feeling to somebody else..

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Another goal, Leach said, is for DAO to have its own permanent camp on the river, completely handicapped accessible, where they could leave their equipment and start bringing in people from all over the United States.Their dream is for somebody to donate the site, either undeveloped where we can develop it ourselves, or developed where we can do some modifications to it..

Funding all of the organization's operations depends on donations and grants.Through the hemophilia connection I was able to talk to some pharmaceutical companies that supply product for people with hemophilia and they've been very nice in supporting us financially, said Leach.One of our bigger supporters is NuFactor which is a home care company, and they've given us a couple of grants through their program `Always Helping Friends.'.

We're also involved in working with the Humboldt Area Foundation in obtaining grants to do some rafting trips for some of the other local foundations that serve people with either learning disabilities or physical disabilities, Leach said.

While other groups charge participants for adventure access, he's not aware of any other organization similar to DAO that raises the money and provides the trip at usually no cost or a minimal registration fee ... I think that sets us way aside..

Bret Leach of Salyer has hemophilia, a hereditary disorder that -- because the blood's clotting ability is impaired -- causes episodes of excessive bleeding.As a child, he wasn't allowed to do many things other kids could, like play football, ride a bike or run freely down the street with his buddies.

"My hemophilia and society kept me from exploring that side of things until I was much older," said Leach."I had a fairly protected life.I went to school, went to college, got a degree, entered the business world, then basically sat behind a desk for years."

These two very different lives melded one day a decade ago.Leach, who had started working at a summer camp for kids with hemophilia, brought up a group of San Francisco area youth to Humboldt County for a week of camping, rock climbing and rafting.
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"We're sitting down at camp," said Leach, now 43, "and Bill started saying, 'I see a real need to a get a foundation together so we can start doing trips for people with disabilities.
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Bret Leach, who has hemophilia and is sometimes wheelchair-bound, heads to shore with guide Bill Wing (right) on board a HandiCat, a boat designed especially to give people with disabilities more access to water adventures.
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Adventures are offered at little or no cost to participants, Leach said.