Why is it that when women get together with other women, they almost always come away feeling rejuvenated, filled up, and excited about life? At the end of our TRAC (Teen Rehab at Craig) camp in July, one of the participant’s takeaways from the camp was “Girl power is real.” I could not agree more. 

In July, I spent a week at the National Abilities Center in Park City, Utah with a group of 6 young women from Craig Hospital, a spinal cord injury rehab center in Colorado where I also did my rehab. The KBF puts on several camps each year, (Turns and Berms where participants bike and ski on the same day in Bend, Oregon; KBF ski camp in Vermont; and KBF mountain bike camp in Vermont, plus others) but this one is unique because it focuses on adolescents who have been injured in the last couple of years. Not only that, parents aren’t allowed, though they can bring a loved one – friend, cousin, sibling, etc. For many of them, it’s their first time away from their parents since their spinal cord injury and the first time their loved one can learn about all they can do and how to support them. 

We’ve been doing this camp for the last 3 years and I’ve heard every year from my colleague, Greg, how powerful and impactful it is. So this year I wanted to make sure to go, and, to my great excitement, it turned out that there were enough girls to fill out a camp so it was going to be all women (sorry Greg!). 80% of spinal cord injuries occur in males (they are just more reckless – truly, that’s the reason…) so women are a massive minority in this community. Getting a group of women together, especially young, and especially newly injured was unique and special. 

The point of me, and Greg in the past, going to these camps is to be a mentor. I talked about my life, and shared experiences, but also was able to be an example of how I do certain things – transfer to a bike, use a shower in a hotel that doesn’t work perfectly, etc. It took less than 24 hours to be on the bus going to or from one of our activities for the girls to start asking me about my marriage, having kids, and my job. And less than 24 after that to ask about sex. All the questions they are dying to know about, but don’t know who to ask. We had great and hilarious, conversations about all these topics and so many more. 

As we talked on the bus, at the beach, at the picnic tables, and around the campfire, I felt the incredibly positive vibes of female energy filling us all up. Laughing, joking, having so much fun, but also learning and trying new things, supporting each other when we were nervous. This goes for me too. Many (most) of the activities that we did during the week I had not done since I had my accident (pickleball, archery, wake surfing, white water rafting). I, 18 years out of my injury, was learning right alongside these women who were 1-4 years out of their injuries. The comradery this created was incredible. 

Going into this trip I was a bit apprehensive. It was a full week spent with a group of people who I didn’t know at all. That’s a long time, and the introvert in me was worried about how I would feel. By the last day, I desperately wanted the trip to continue – I was having so much fun. You could probably say I was getting over the same anxieties, and having the same growth, as the girls on the trip. As we went through the trip, we supported each other through our shared experiences both on this trip but also just living as a woman with a spinal cord injury. As we talked, commiserated, and laughed we lifted each other up and came away feeling supported and empowered to return home even more ready to take on the challenges of the world. This is the power of female friendship, which is even more important for young women, and heightened further if you have a disability. I felt that power, and I know everyone else on the trip did too. 

Every night we finished the day with a group circle chat where we talked about our highs and lows of the day and some other questions that were decided that day. One of the first nights, as the first person finished what they wanted to share, they paused and then added “Thank you Kelly Brush.” We all laughed. But then when the next person finished, she also said, “Thank you Kelly Brush” and on it went all the way around the group, everyone finishing with “Thank you Kelly Brush.” So, for the rest of the week, the girls would say this to me over and over. I laughed every time, but it made me so happy to see their genuine thanks for what this camp was giving each of them. 

So, I want to finish this blog by saying my thank yous. Thank you to the Craig team for making this happen, bringing the girls together, and being an unending support for them while we were there. Thank you to the NAC who provided great lodging and incredible activities the entire week. Thank you to all the donors and supporters of the KBF who make experiences like this possible. And, last but definitely not least, thank you to all of the girls on the trip who made this an absolutely amazing and unforgettable experience for me. 

And finally, I’ll leave you with a few quotes. On the last night during our circle chat, the final question was “What will you take away from this trip?” Here are some of the answers:

  • “I learned I could do all of these things.”
  • “The friends I made, you are all awesome.”
  • “You were all my patients at Craig, and now I get to seeing you living your life and crushing it. It’s full circle for me.”
  • “I felt very seen and understood and we bonded over things that nobody really knows or thinks about.”
  • “I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did, but I had so much fun. It was scary to come but everything was taken care of, I didn’t have to think about if I could fit somewhere, it all just worked.”