Shannon's Friends

There is fresh venison in the locker this week because our oldest son again bagged a fat 4-point whitetail buck in the North Fork. He's only failed once in many years and a few of those trophies were braggin' size. This isn't a real BIG DEAL until you know the background.

Former Park Ranger son, Shannon, is severely handicapped by myotonic muscular dystrophy. He can no longer walk and has great difficulty in use of his hands. This is our son who once climbed in the Alps, traveled on his own in Africa, served on an Army ski team in Europe, and participated in NATO winter maneuvers above the Arctic Circle in Norway.

The MD was first diagnosed when he returned from the service but he still had relatively little physical restriction for several years, allowing him to Captain a sightseeing boat at Many Glacier and climb the Park's high peaks. He became a seasonal ranger in Yellowstone Park for five years. As the disease weakened him, the Park Service thoughtfully transferred him to Glacier for another five years. Superintendent Dave Mihalic and others were very helpful to Shan by installing handicapped access to the West Entrance Station and at the headquarters building. He was also there in his uniform and wheelchair at the dedication of the new handicapped trail to Pitamakan Falls.

Thankfully, during those years of his decreasing physical abilities he was still able to make photo trips to Alaska, Costa Rican jungles, American Southwest, Canadian Rockies and the Hawaiian Islands. For the jungle trip we had to line up wheelchairs before hand in Spokane, San Francisco, Mexico City and Costa Rican camps.

BUT! It has been his biggest blessing to have so many friends who have stood by him to enable annual fishing floats of the Missouri River … and big game hunting trips each fall. These are the highlights of Shan's otherwise restricted life.

When he could no longer pull the trigger of his rifle, they had it altered so he can fire the gun with a lever. For antelope hunting, Jeff Haven built him a seat with tripod for holding the rifle and several big bucks were bagged with Shan in a blind. Deer hunting presented the toughest problems and the last few years Shan received a permit to allow him to shoot from a vehicle with the rifle mounted on a well designed window mount. That's how he got the last few bucks, including the one he shot Sunday. There are obvious restrictions to that setup because the window must always be down, the deer has to be on the passenger side, and the angles of fire are limited. Safety of other hunters is also a constant factor.

I'm writing this story to give heartfelt thanks the best way I can to Shannon's friends. My family's respect and appreciation of them is unlimited. Regretfully, I can't list them all, but the leaders are Jeff Haven, Mark Downey and David Stoic. It is not easy for these lifelong friends to give up personal time with their families and their work, to do hard tasks enabling Shannon to have quality adventures afield.

Shan will be 50 years old in February. There have been tough times but the thoughtfulness of his friends has been God sent.

One final thought! There are many folks out there who aren't blessed with others to help them. And yes! There are hundreds and hundreds of good souls in our valley who go to supreme measures and sacrifice to help those less fortunate. Perhaps this short account may inspire a few more to do the same.

Thank you all … for being the kind of people you are.

G. George Ostrom is a Kalispell resident and a national-award winning Hungry Horse News columnist.