WTNH News Channel 8
By Sarah Cody
September 28, 2023
WALLINGFORD, Conn. (WTNH) – “I’m internally an Iron Man,” says Mike van Emmenes. “I have rods in my pelvis that will stay there for life.”
The result was a terrible biking accident in 2021. The Guilford dad suffered a shattered pelvis along with broken ribs and vertebrae.
Even so, one year and one week after this event, van Emmenes completed an Iron Man competition in Lake Placid.
“For me, to have my family there with me and to accomplish what I set out to do was tremendous, just tremendous,” he says.
Hartford Courant
By Lori Riley
June 28, 2023
WALLINGFORD – Chelsea Michaud was in class in college in October 2019 when she realized she was having a hard time breathing.
She had no idea what was wrong. She went to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and within 24 hours, she lost feeling from her waist down and was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the nervous system and can cause muscle weakness and paralysis. That turned into chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), a neurological disorder which can be a long-term effect of GBS.
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NBC Connecticut
By Jolie Sherman
June 24, 2023
Hundreds of people braved the rain in Wallingford Saturday. Athletes of all abilities participated in what's known as the Gaylord Gauntlet, a 5K obstacle run that celebrates adaptive athletes. These are people who have experienced spinal cord injuries, amputations, strokes or other mobility impairments.
"Some of these adaptive athletes will be either paraplegic or quadriplegic and have certain different levels of strength in their arms. But they may require a wheelchair for parts of the course and their team is there to assist them get through the hard parts," said Steven Holland, race director and Chief Medical [Director] at Gaylord Hospital.
WFSB News Channel 3
By Susan Raff
June 20, 2023
Conn. (WFSB) - Athletes will be competing in the “Gaylord Gauntlet” to raise money for Gaylord Hospital this Saturday.
Close to 1,000 men and women will be competing in this year’s gauntlet – 22 are adaptive athletes.
Some say they are racing because they know how the hospital has helped them firsthand.
Cameron Senna was hit by a car riding his motorcycle. He had 20 major injuries and lost his right leg. Senna spent over a month at Gaylord Hospital.
He will be competing in an obstacle course to show himself and others what is possible.
“It’s about strengthening yourself and being a survivor,” said Senna.
CT Post
By Andy Tsubasa Field
June 18, 2023
SEYMOUR — Chris Pranger was rounding a curve on his motorcylce in October 2021, when he collided head-on with a car and lost his right leg.
A nearby Seymour police officer saved his life by quickly applying tourniquets to stop bleeding from the missing limb, according to Gaylord Hospital where he did his therapy.
Now, less than two years later he will be among the nearly 1,000 people expected to take part in a 5K trail and obstacle course run this month.
The Middletown Press
By Andrea Valluzzo
DEEP RIVER — Natalie Matarazzo of Deep River may only be 19, but she has already faced a gauntlet and is about to take on another.
One moment she was a high school senior, and, in the blink of an eye, her life changed after a car crash in October 2020 left her with a spinal cord injury and no feeling below her chest. Today, after much intensive therapy at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare that is still ongoing, she has regained some feeling, mobility and independence.
Channel 8 CT Style
June 16, 2023
New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) – The Gaylord Gauntlet is coming up on Saturday, June 24th.
It’s a 5k trail and obstacle run that raises funds for Connecticut’s largest adaptive sports program. To discuss this exciting event, CT Style Host Natasha Lubczenko got together with Katie Joly, Program Manager of Gaylord Sports Association, and Natalie Matarazzo, Featured Adaptive Athlete participating in this year’s Gaylord Gauntlet.
Katie tells our viewers about the event, “It’s a 5k obstacle mud run. It features 24 different obstacles, everything from walls to climb over mud pits, rope walks, even a huge water slide at the end. We also have a festival area with food trucks and music, so it is a super fun day for...
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WTNH News Channel 8
By Kathryn Hauser
June 15, 2023
WALLINGFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A Wallingford woman was unsure if she would ever walk again after being injured in a horrific car accident in 2020 at just 17, but now two-and-a-half years later, she is beating the odds.
Natalie Matarazzo, 19, was chosen as this year’s featured adaptive athlete of the Gaylord Gauntlet 5K and Obstacle Run on Saturday, June 24, at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford.
More than 1,000 runners and 22 adaptive athletes are expected to compete in a race promoting health, function, and fitness held on the hospital’s 400 acres.
WTNH Channel 8 News
By Kathryn Hauser
Feb. 12, 2023
WALLINGFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The Super Bowl wasn’t the only big athletic event on Sunday. There was a big hockey game at Choate Rosemary Hall to raise money for a good cause.
They played sled hockey at the Choate rink. Members of the Choate hockey teams took to sleds to play against a team from the Gaylord Adaptive Sports Program.
“Just seeing how much grit and effort that they put into it – it’s just amazing, especially because it seems like a different game – but honestlyit’s’s amazing just seeing how people connect over the sport,” said Cadence Secreto, a player on the Choate girls Varsity hockey team.
The Day
By Kimberly Drelich
August 20, 2022
Griswold ― Jillian Harpin enjoyed water skiing Saturday morning in loops around Pachaug Pond.
Harpin, a Wethersfield resident who had a spinal cord injury about six years ago, used an adaptive water ski, which was about the size of a wake board and had a seat.
She said that since her injury, she’s become way more adventurous and experienced so many different types of sports that she never tried before. She said participating in adaptive sports allows her to keep challenging herself and meet other people who share a similar journey.