Canadian Paralympic Athletes Win Big by Shandi Pace

After sending it’s largest contingency to the Paralympics Canada did not disappoint. The
athletes representing the maple leaf picked up a total of 28 medals (8 gold, 4 silver, 16 bronze). This blows away Canada’s most successful Winter Games set in Vancouver in 2010 where 19 total medals were won, 10 of which were gold.

Many athletes were able to accomplish what they set out to do. Mark Arendz was the clear choice as Canada’s flag bearer after his impressive medal count. After years of heartbreak, he finally won the biathlon gold he was missing. Arendz won a total of five individual medals and a cross-country mixed relay silver to bring his total to six.

Brian McKeever became Canada’s most decorated Paralympic athlete and won triple gold in PyeongChang. He now has 16 Paralympic medals, 13 of them being gold. The Canadian men’s sledge hockey team took home the silver medal after a heartbreaking overtime loss to the United States.

Mollie Jepsen won four medals in South Korea, including gold in the women’s standing super-combined slalom. This 18-year-old can only walk away with her head held high and medals of every colour around her neck.

These athletes were unstoppable as soon as the Games started. With the amount of talent Canadian athletes have shown over the last two weeks, it’s only fitting to be even more excited for the next Paralympic Winter Games in 2022.

Sharing My Story by Sarah Evans

On August 5, I was on a panel about mental health and disability. It was hosted by Healthy Minds Canada, a charity that raises awareness about mental health and addictions and supports research and education. The panel was the second in a series of Lunch and Learns hosted by the charity. I was one of two panelists, and the panel was moderated by Paul Rosen, a Canadian Paralympic athlete and motivational speaker.

I was pretty confident about sharing my story because I had done it a couple of years before at the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy's conference. The first time I shared my story was a bit scary. It was hard for me to know what to include since I wanted to be honest without getting too personal. People showed me how to balance this, which helped me to gain confidence in my boundaries. 

Although it wasn't planned, I ended up being on the panel with a really good friend. We used to be neighbours, and she was there for me when I was going through my worst mental health crisis. It meant a lot to me that we were able to do this together. 

The presentation was well received. People seemed to be very interested in what we had to say. I am very grateful to the people who organized the event and am hopeful that this will be the first of many opportunities to get the discussion of disability and mental health going.