• Up •

Sue Lehman

President - Dreams Go On

‘Life is not the way it's supposed to be.  It is the way it is.  The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.’
 
A few years ago I was driving home alone and had a car wreck. 
 I was in coma for three months with a brain injury. 
 
About 60% of the time I walk with the walker, and 40% of the time I use a wheelchair.
 I’m OK with this now – I haven’t ‘accepted’ the wheelchair… that word ‘acceptance’ just IS NOT in my dictionary.
No doctor has ever told me I wouldn’t walk so I’ll probably try to walk with no cane or walker forever.  That’s just the way I am.
 

I was walking using a walker four years, then I walked with a cane.  After my knee surgery 2 years ago I went back to using the walker.   By next year I plan to be using the cane again.  Why? Strength.  The key was, is now & always will be strength.  Everything we do takes strength…
…getting out of bed, washing clothes, showering, preparing meals, brushing your teeth, working, and walking.
 
I added another physical activity that takes strength:
 
HORSEBACK RIDING! 
 
I could go on for days how horses have impacted my life, but in a nutshell horses were my life and still are.
  I am in complete control of a thousand pound animal while riding – now that’s strength!
My physical strength has greatly improved my mental strength. 
 

My car wreck damaged my vocal cords. So the computer & e-mail are now voice.  Literally. 
Four things mainly have gotten me through thus far…
my Family, my Friends, my Attitude, and the Internet.  They are helping to continue this awesome journey...
  

I started a therapeutic riding business in 2005: Dreams Go On  www.DreamsGoOn.com 
 It's now a non-profit organization with an awesome board of fifteen people and over 70 volunteers. 
 Easter Seals and Blair Family Solutions are collaborative partners.  We hope to build a large therapeutic barn in the very near future.

Why?   Because anything is possible.

 -------------------

I wrote this paper for my English minor at college.  I recently edited it and would like to dedicate it to all the Dreams Go On Volunteers.

The World is my Classroom

Sue Lehman

Dreams Go On President

October 2011

      When one thinks of education a classroom situation usually comes to mind.  My idea of education does not take place in a classroom though…it takes place in everyday life.  Year’s ago my “classroom” was at school, in my home, at work, in the barn, or in a lecture hall.  Now though my ‘classroom’ also includes The Dreams Go On Volunteer world that I view from my wheelchair.

      Each Volunteer has his or her own special uniqueness and talents.  Many Volunteers don’t know what their special talents are and yet are still just as inspiring.  There is always that want or that need to be special and loved… the Volunteers make the riders feel loved.

      The feeling from all Volunteers is that of having an open mind – and they don’t even realize they do that.   They let the rider’s mind go.  A Volunteer helps a rider’s mind wander to a place nobody has ever been before.

      Since Volunteers have an open mind, then the climate of our barn easily falls into place.  A very relaxed and open area has evolved.   Anyone can learn something from anyone.

      The skills, knowledge and attitude of all Volunteers are amazing.  If a volunteer wishes a rider to accomplish something then they must have the skills and knowledge to do so – and they do.  The skills include being able to plan and manage the riding environment very well. 

      Being able to implement new and exciting ideas will make everyone’s life more enjoyable.  A rider is excited by new ideas – new ways of learning.  Take the computer for example.  Millions of people have had their minds opened because a new “tool” of teaching was introduced. 

      A person never stops learning.  Life is the entire process of learning – one concept after another.  Many of these concepts aren’t easy to learn, but in the end they make us stronger and better people.  I have a very different perspective of the world around me now.  Some things that I see now are very wrong and just shouldn’t be, but the Dreams Go On Volunteers make it all very OK. 

THANK YOU