Young Jesse Lawrence was diagnosed with the eye condition Keratoconus at age eight.
He was looking down the barrel of a significant eye operation – so we thought a fishing trip chasing big barra might take his mind off it.
Keratoconus is when the cornea is an odd shape which has rendered him nearly blind.
To see Jesse must use really thick contact lens that are really hard to get in.
Not to mention expensive ($900) and not covered by medicare rebates.
His parents Rebecca and Jason reckon he’s a little legend for persevering and putting them in everyday.
At the start it would take over an hour to get them in, taking courage and perseverance. Sometimes they would break. A very costly exercise.
So with Jesse being an avid angler, they used fishing gear to reward his efforts.
When he got the contacts in place in five attempts or less, he got to choose something out of the “fishing bag”. When he got them in first go on both eyes – they got him a new fishing rod!
Fishing as therapy to cope with uncertainty around a medical condition.
I first met Jesse as he is a member of the Cardwell sportfishing club.
Jesse’s enthusiasm for life and courage facing life head on was an inspiration.
So we took him fishing earlier this year to see if we could match or beat his barra PB of 70 cm.
How fishing as therapy works…
It helps focus your attention on the present moment.
You have to be so attuned to the environment it can take your mind off the day to day.
First up collecting bait.
While I prefer to use lures, it’s always handy to have a back up plan.
And hunting down bait in the shallows is a perfect example of fishing as therapy. You need FOCUS.
cm.
Trolling on the big girls
Prior to filming the trip, Jesse was preparing for a big eye operation: a corneal transplant.
It’s one of the reasons we wanted to get him out fishing.
Fishing as therapy is another way to say – get their mind off it!
Sadly the weather to our trip did not play the game with a ton of rain.
The resultant fresh streaming down the channel sent a lot of the big fish packing.
Enter those livies we caught earlier.
Fishing as Therapy; Fish on… problems forgotten!
With the big girls not playing the game we hit the snags with the livies for some school size barra action.
Jesse proved to be a top class angler!
Certainly knew how to use his new fishing rod!
Post script on Jesse’s Op.
On the 15th February Jesse went into surgery. So far the operation has been a success.
You can follow his progress on this Facebook page: Jesse’s Keratoconus
If you’d like to learn more about this debilitating condition or donate for further research, please visit Keratoconus Australia.
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