|
This article is reprinted with permission from the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation
Sherri Backstrom:
Founder of Disability-Friendly Yacht Charter Service
By Christy Casamassima
Issue date: October 3, 2007
Sherri Backstrom, of Bellingham, WA, was a single mother of three children working in the
boating industry when she met her partner, Don, an avid boater. Today, adding a stepchild and
a grandchild into the mix, Sherri and Don plan to marry in 2008 and embark on a life of travel
and adventure as they explore the world at the helm of their 38' sailboat, S/V Clipper Spirit.
In Part I of this profile, we discuss the classic progression of Sherri's CMT and how she has
overcome many of her physical challenges and limitations to live a full and courageous life.
In Part II of this profile, we explore Sherri's quest to start her own exciting travel
business, Waypoint Charters, a yacht charter service that provides exhilarating travel
vacations to people with disabilities who want to explore the world by boat.
|
 |
Part I
Disease Progression
Since her teen years, Sherri has experienced progressive atrophy of her hands, arms, legs and
feet. In addition, she has experienced hammer toes, high arches, numbness, tingling,
deteriorating fine motor skills and severe muscle cramping before she was finally diagnosed in
1985. Over the years, severe drop foot occurred, eventually resulting in a broken foot in
2000.
She recalls, "As the progression of CMT continued, daily life became more challenging. Balance
issues arose from the drop foot, muscle atrophy and pain in my feet and legs. Increasing
episodes of tripping and falling affected my confidence while on my feet and eventually
resulted in the awareness of the need to look into other careers. I had grown up being an avid
snow skier and gave that up completely in 1986. My fingers and hands have become weaker,
worsening when it turns cold in the fall and winter. Difficulty opening doors, signing my
name, handling eating utensils, buttons and zippers, etc. have increased over the years.
Learning to ask for assistance was an initial challenge that I continue to work on."
Assessing Her Limitations
For 12 years, Sherri owned and operated a Montessori preschool while raising her three
children as a single parent. Although she had remained active, exercising daily and always on
her feet, she was slowly losing the fine motor dexterity her hands and balance in her legs and
feet. She says that, often, the falls would result in injury to her hands, knees, ankles and
feet. Muscle cramping continued to worsen, mostly in her legs and arms. She could no longer
comfortably work on her feet, as the hammertoes, arches and legs were becoming more and more
painful. By 1998, she was experiencing daily discomfort by the end of the day. Finding shoes
that were comfortable with her arch supports was becoming an increasing challenge.
Sherri recalls the events surrounding her diagnosis. She says that during her second pregnancy
(1984), at the age of 22, she started having symptoms of numbness, tingling and severe muscle
cramping in her arms and legs. She says, "I had also noticed atrophy in my hands. I had done
some research and went to my primary physician to discuss alternative vitamin therapy for,
what I had come to believe was, carpal tunnel syndrome in my arms. He sent me to a neurologist
for further testing, as he felt that the symptoms and atrophy were indicative of something
different. After being seen and tested by two neurologists, it was decided that I had CMT.
They said I was a rare case, since we could not determine that anyone else in my family had
CMT and, at that time, a "sporadic, female case" was seen as very rare. My reaction to this
initial diagnosis was relief, that it wasn't MS and that it was conducive with long life. I
did not give it any other attention other than becoming very proactive in maintaining and
building my healthy lifestyle with regular workouts at the gym and staying busy with my
children and business."
Moving Forward
Sherri has always believed that a positive attitude is important, therefore, she decided to
focus on building a fun, active, healthy lifestyle for herself and her children. This decision
ultimately led to a new career as director of a yacht charter business that takes people with
disabilities all over the world. Here's how it all happened.
She says, " I love to sail, and have been determined, since I was 16 years old, to eventually
travel and see the world by the waterways on the deck of a sailboat. This dream was weakening
as the progression continued to worsen. In October 2000, I tripped and broke my right foot.
When a local orthopedic surgeon saw, he questioned the diagnosis of CMT and sent me back to
the University of Washington Hospital where I saw the head of neurology, Dr. Kraus. He
conducted more nerve conduction studies, EMG and genetic testing (which they did not have at
the time I was originally diagnosed). The genetic tests came back "Undeterminable" as I was
not a known type of CMT. They took more blood for research and decided that, because I have
all of the "classic" symptoms of CMT, they were calling it such and would be following up with
tests in my children as they grew and started families of their own. I will be taking my
daughter and granddaughter to the UW Hospital this fall to begin those tests. I, again, felt a
sense of relief at this point, believing that my case is "open-ended", meaning that maybe the
expected progression of CMT will not apply to me.
A Serendipitous Encounter
While at the UW Hospital, with Dr. Bird (Head of Genetics), doctors recommended that Sherri
talk to a Dr. Sigvard Hansen about potential corrective surgeries. Ironically, she had heard
Dr. Hansen's name over the years, and thus, learned that Dr. Bird works closely with Dr.
Hansen through the UW Hospital research. Sherri said that she would be interested in a
consultation for future reference ("some 'foot-notes' for my file," she jokes), since she was
not planning on any surgeries at that time and was, in fact, being fitted for her second set
of foot and leg braces. Dr. Bird arranged a meeting and, two weeks later, Sherri was in Dr.
Sigvard T. Hansen's Foot & Ankle Institute at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, WA.
She explains: "Little did I know then that most people wait years to speak with this doctor
who had developed so many of the surgery techniques used today for feet and ankle repair! He
trains many doctors from all over the world in these techniques and had several there when I
arrived on December 23, 2002. What I thought would be a half-hour visit turned into the entire
day with full X-rays being taken of both of my feet and a lengthy conversation with Dr. Hansen
that ended with his statement of "Sherri, block out your next year, as I am going to do
surgery on both of your feet and change the quality of your life."
"I drove for the next two hours back home to Bellingham in a state of shock and disbelief. I
had not gone looking or asking for surgery and had only expected a short consultation with
advice for future reference. That was the beginning of what I now consider to be nothing short
of one of my life's biggest blessings! A gift! I was scheduled for surgery in August 2003, and
received a phone call asking to push it up to July. While recovering, the last week of July
2003, I was asked by a PT if I was related to Dr. Hansen. I said "no" and wondered why so many
nurses and staff seemed interested in who I was. She informed me that they were curious
because, looking at my chart, they could see the progression of events from the time of the
first phone call from Dr. Bird in genetics to now and explained that Dr. Hansen no longer does
surgery and that most people wait years just to talk to him by phone!"
"Dr. Hansen and his team of doctors performed muscle-tendon transfers on both of my feet and
legs to correct and minimize the drop-foot, lengthened both Achilles tendons, straightened my
hammer toes, and fused my left foot in three places to reconstruct my arch and stabilize the
ankle. Going home in a wheelchair allowed me to experience my biggest fear since the original
diagnosis, that I, like so many others with CMT, would eventually be confined to the use of a
wheelchair. This was temporary and, within a few months I was walking in boot casts and
crutches. With the help of Dr. John McWilliams and his great team of PTs at Bellingham
Physical Therapy, LLC, I was able to begin learning how to walk again (with a new, corrected
gait!) in shoes in late December 2003. Ongoing physical therapy and eventual exercise classes
have led me to a richer, active lifestyle again and my fiance, Don, and I have spent a
portion of the last three years on the sea in our 38' sailboat, S/V Clipper Spirit, exploring
the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific coast of Mexico, landing in El Salvador in May of this year.
This has been the beginning of my lifelong dream to see the world by the waterways! We call it
"incremental world cruising"! We will return to explore Central America this coming winter.
We've even entertained the thought of getting on the ski slopes again this winter!"
In her free time, Sherri enjoy spending time with her family and close friends, spending time
on any beach, cataloging and re-arranging her growing sea shell collection, photography,
various types of exercise classes and even short hikes on local trails (she says "thanks to
the increased confidence that has been returned from the surgery!").
" I have grown up on the water here in the Pacific Northwest and San Juan Islands, and boating
has always been a preferred leisure activity. My fiancé and I have a small Hobie Cat that we
take out on the lake where we live in the summer and, of course, our 38' sailboat, "Clipper
Spirit", awaits our return in El Salvador, where we will continue to explore the countries of
Central America this winter. People often wonder how I can participate in sailing, with all of
the hands-on work it requires. I am very happy and confident to be at the helm of any vessel
and I also am in charge of most of the navigation process. I wear cushioned gloves to assist
in my grip ability and, because of my ongoing exercise and workouts, my large muscle groups in
my arms, legs and torso are where I draw my strength from. Although it has taken a few years
for me to become comfortable with CMT, I am very grateful for my partner, Don, who is always
willing to help with situations that I cannot do for myself. We often remind ourselves that he
is my hands and I am his ears and eyes."
Part ll
Recently, we profiled Sherri TK about the progression of CMT and how a strange series of
coincidences led her to one of the country's most prominent othopedic surgeons to correct leg
and foot deformities caused by her condition. In this segment, we focus on Sherri's
determination to switch careers, from running a preschool, to traveling the world as the owner
of her own yacht charter business.
Sherri explains how her cruising lifestyle began, "When I closed the Montessori preschool in
2000, I decided to go to the marina and look into getting my ASA (American Sailing
Association) certifications with the thought that someday it could be a marketable skill that
I could use in any waterfront arena as an ASA sailing instructor. (I was still planning on
seeing the world on the water-side!) That led me to San Juan Sailing & Yachting here in
Bellingham, WA and, after a conversation with the sailing school director, I was offered a job
as the cleaning crew manager for a fleet of 30 boats and a staff of 12. San Juan Sailing is a
yacht charter company, offering mostly bareboat, and a few crewed, yacht charters here in the
Northwest. People come from all over the world to enjoy the San Juan and Gulf Islands on sail
and power boats. I enjoyed the customer contact I had in this position, sharing the enthusiasm
and passion of being on the water with people from all over the world."
Her customer-service reputation grew within the marina, as she worked for the Port of
Bellingham in a six-month temporary position on the marina management team, again interfacing
with many visiting boaters, and creating various venues to accommodate the needs of visitors
and boat owners in the harbor. She was then asked to come to work for the local marine
chandlery, Redden Marine Supply, where she worked as the sales floor manager. It was while she
was employed there, that she underwent her lengthy foot surgery and, during the recovery
process, came to the final awareness that she had a responsibility to take care of the "gift"
that had been given to her. She says, "I wanted to be good to my "new" feet and find a career
that did not require me to be on them for such long periods of time."
It was also during this period that she met Don, a semi-retired commercial fisherman who had
also been on the seas all of his life and was planning on seeing the world by the waterways.
Over the next year, the two started talking about options that would allow them to travel for
short periods on their boat and also be conducting some sort of business.
Sherri recalls: "My No. 1 objective in working around the marina had always been to build
marketable skills for future travel. A friend suggested to him that I should look into the
career of an independent yacht charter broker. As my research revealed, an independent yacht
charter broker is different from companies like San Juan Sailing, in that they, similar to a
travel agent, work as the liaison between a client and any sail or power vessel offering
crewed yacht charter vacations worldwide. I spent a year fully researching this exciting
possibility and decided that this seemed like the perfect fit for my desire to keep working
with people in the marine & travel arena, our goals to travel, and the vision of helping other
people in pursuing their quest for the ideal "on-the-water" experience. Because of the
advanced technological era in which we live, I can work from virtually anywhere in the world;
my home office, the beach, internet cafes, even the middle of the ocean! Although we do not
plan on traveling away from the office for much more than 2-3 months per year, it has been yet
another blessing to have found, what seems to be, the best "job" for me!"
Explains Sherri: "As Don and I travel on our sailboat we, too, will be
marketing on both sides of the coin; meeting many tourists who enjoy leisure and vacation time
on or near the water and also seeking out charter vessels in the many cruising grounds of the
world. To date, I am the only charter broker with extensive first-hand knowledge of one of the
new emerging markets-the beautiful Sea of Cortez. I also know, personally, most of the new
vessels that are chartering in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska-two other emerging markets in
this industry.
What prompted Sherri to start working with travel for people with
disabilities? She explains: "While I was working at Redden Marine Supply, I met a woman who
owns a 96' trawler, Sea Wolf. She was in the process of doing a refit on this beautiful boat
to accommodate clients with disabilities. She added an elevator, widened the decks and
remodeled three staterooms for wheelchair access. She also added a lift that lowers clients
from their wheelchairs into a kayak for guided excursions from the infamous Glacier Bay,
Alaska, to the beautiful San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands, here in the Puget Sound. I became
very interested in her dream to bring this experience to those who may have thought it
unattainable. I shared with her the desire to inform others of this travel option and told her
of the extensive network available to me through the hospitals, doctors, clinics and
publications that I have had involvement with because of my disease. I quickly felt that this
could be an avenue in which I could "pay it forward" and give to others that which I had
recently received; the gift of the awareness that all things are possible and for those who
want to have an intimate experience with the sea. I could help to arrange that through my new
business as a yacht charter broker. From this initial exposure, I started to look into other
options for clients with disabilities and found there to be only a few. I have contacted these
companies and am very excited to be promoting their businesses on a new section of my website
www.waypointcharter.com (re-launched September 25,
2007). "
She says, "I believe that my own personal experience, enthusiasm and passion for being on the
water myself will make it easy to build relationships with clients who, like me, want to live
life to the fullest, despite any physical limitations. There is nothing quite like the feeling
one gets when you see your first whale breaching alongside your boat or making eye contact
with a pod of dolphins as they dance in the waves alongside the bow. Most individuals with any
physical limitations know only about travel on the water in the large cruise ships; crowded
with hundreds of people, stopping only at predetermined destinations and off-loading with many
others for scheduled tours and shopping. A private or semi-private yacht charter allows the
client to go to the places that they want to see, do the things that they want to do, while a
professional crew caters to their every need and wish.
We are so excited to further promote this type of yacht charter vacation! Knowing first-hand
the concerns and discouragement that so often accompanies having a physical disability, I look
forward to sharing the reality of the dream to "see the world by the waterways" and fully
experience all that the Sea has to offer! A lifelong favorite quote from Goethe has inspired
and guided my life path; "Whatever you can do, or dream you can-Begin It! Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it."
Sherri tells us about her business and how it's helpful for people with
disabilities: "As an independent yacht charter broker, my job is to get to know my client and
their desires and needs and then match those with my extensive knowledge of available boats
and crews to create the perfect charter vacation experience. As the liaison between the
charter companies and the clients, I handle all of the booking details, trip preparations, and
anything else that is needed before, during and after the scheduled charter. The client pays
no additional fees for my services, as I am paid commissions from the charter companies.
Waypoint Charter Services focuses on just that; honest, respectful, professional customer
service for every client.
For people with disabilities, we will continue to network within the travel industry to
further help in arranging all of their travel needs. We realize that the reality of a private
yacht vacation will also include arrangements for air/ground travel and hotel accommodations
in getting to and from the chosen charter vessel and we will do everything we can to help
facilitate and advise on those issues. Anywhere that these charters are located, we will be
researching all of the above to help provide the perfect accessible vacation. Ancient Greece,
breathtaking Alaska, the beautiful San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands, the tropical getaways
of Caribbean, and beyond? Where will your dreams take you? Call us to "Begin It"! For more
information, contact Sherri at:
Waypoint Charter Services
4648 Lakeway Drive
Bellingham, WA 98229
USA
Office Phone/Fax: 360-656-5934
Toll Free (US & Canada): 888-491-2949
www.waypointcharter.com
sherri@waypointcharter.com
© Copyright 2006 HNF-cure.org
|
|
|
|
|
