Even though Mental Health Awareness Month was back in May, that didn’t stop Ohio local Joe Soloman from doing what many people would deem impossible. He decided to kayak the entire length of the Mississippi River in hopes of raising awareness for a Cincinnati based charity organization called Adventure Crew which strives to
“See a future where all city teens experience the empowering and therapeutic effects of an outdoor adventure. Where fear is conquered, confidence is gained and peace of mind is discovered.”
This is truly an incredible and unimaginable feat to tackle, but Joe has spoken publicly about personal experiences regarding kayaking and mental health struggles that will help fuel the 2,350-mile journey. He describes having a terrible reaction to an anesthetic in 2012 due to a surgery that left him in a completely catatonic state, meaning he could not move, speak, or react to any kind of stimuli. This led him down a dark path of various mental health obstacles as he