Day on the Lake

When: The next event is Sept. 7-9. Where: Bartlett Lake Marina, 20808 E. Bartlett Dam Road, Carefree. Cost: $50 per participant. Free for family members and volunteers. Details: barrowneuro.org, bartlettlake.com.

Crawford is a recreation therapist by trade and a program coordinator for Barrow Connection, an affiliate group of Barrow Neurological Institute that works to enrich the lives of people with neurological disabilities.

Barrow Connection conducted research that found 65 to 70 percent of the people who go to Day on the Lake initiate something new with their life, such as asking someone on a date, learning to drive or changing careers.

Although she cycles, swims and kayaks on her own, Day on the Lake is the only time each year that Jennifer Chaillie water-skis. “I’m an outdoors person, and it’s a great opportunity to be outside and be safe and get to do all this fun stuff that would be very hard to do on your own,” she said.

Six years ago, Chaillie broke her neck while diving into a hotel pool on Memorial Day. She said she is paralyzed from the chest down and uses a wheelchair.

To participate, Day on the Lake attendees must be one year post-injury and be able to pass an intake test, during which they’re placed facedown in water and have to hold their breath for 10 seconds before flipping themselves onto their back.

Chaillie, now 35, was water-skiing almost exactly a year after her injury. This is her fifth time attending.

On Friday afternoon, she dipped into the water for a final go on the monoski, a wide water ski with a chair attached. Last year she rode for the first time without outriggers, which are like training wheels for water, and this year she wanted to go a whole ride without falling.

The boat took off and she popped up onto the water. She lacks strength in her hands, so she focused on gripping her wrists under the rails on the chair. Two pairs of people on Jet Skis followed behind her, ready to jump into the water to help her if she fell.

She balanced easily as she rode along, appearing to use immense core strength that she doesn’t have — instead, she flexed the muscles in her arms and shoulders to steer the ski, leaning gracefully into turns. After about 10 minutes, the boat approached the marina, slowing down to let her sink into the water. She hadn’t fallen once.

“The word that comes to mind is just ‘alive,’ ” she said. “I feel free.”