The 11 years since a tragic car accident left Southold’s Kim Haeg clinging to life, a quadriplegic dependent upon a ventilator, have not been easy.
But despite tremendous challenges, Haeg, now 30, remains optimistic and joyful. And on Monday, a beloved yearly tradition continued as she was able to spend the day out fishing on the water, thanks to the loving heart of Captain Bob Rocchetta at Rainbow Charters, Inc. in Orient.
Every year, Rocchetta arranges a day to take Haeg out onto the open waters.
“The best part of the trip is that he has a special electric fishing rod that comes with a push down button — for people like me who can’t fish with their arms. I put the button in my mouth and whenever the rod jigs, I know there is a fish on it, so I bite down and it reels it up. That way, I’m doing my own fishing. It was the best feeling in the world when I did that for the first time years ago, and I still get that feeling every time I catch a fish,” Haeg said.
Even Mother Nature cooperated.
“It was a beautiful day yesterday on the water,” Haeg said Tuesday. “t was supposed to rain and I said a little prayer in the morning, and God pulled through and gave us the most perfect day.”
Rochetta, a retired Suffolk County police officer who now runs the charter business, has a special ramp on his boat so that those in wheelchairs and with disabilities can enjoy a day on the water with the sun on their faces and the wind in their hair.
“He likes to help make it easier and fun for those who can’t,” Haeg said.
This year, Haeg’s friend Joe Testaverde, who is also in a wheelchair, her nurse Katrina Madorran, her father Dennis Haeg and another friend of her father’s headed out for the six-hour excursion.
“We caught a lot of fish and had a lot of fun,” she said.
Haeg said Capt. Bob has taken her out without fail every year since the accident; Haeg went to school with his daughter.
The trips began after Haeg’s mom Lorraine saw an article about Capt. Bob’s commitment to helping bring those with disabilities out to fish; she contacted him and Capt. Bob readily agreed.
Haeg’s close friend Testaverde also “loves to fish. He comes out with me almost every year. He loves going out with Bob because Bob accommodates him and knows the type of fishing Joe likes to do. Those two have a blast together.” Testaverde, she said, even goes night fishing out on the ocean with Capt. Bob.
“Bob is a great man and everyone should know about his services; he does a great job,” Dennis Haeg said.
Haeg agreed, saying when Capt. Bob takes her out, he’s “super cautious where the water is too rough, so my ventilator doesn’t get wet. He doesn’t take me out if it’s raining or bad weather. He makes sure the weather and conditions are perfect and that I’m always secured down, so I don’t move while the boat is in motion.”
Haeg said she is forever thankful to Capt. Bob for affording her the opportunity. “I am so honored and so grateful to have found such a great guy who does these great things,” she said.
Yet despite the challenges, Haeg finds hope and optimism. “Today I am grateful I’m alive and love the people who have come into my life after this accident. And the ones who have stuck by me through everything since. It’s a different life than we ever expected but we have learned not only to survive but to live and enjoy each day. Please remember to appreciate what you have and don’t take for granted the little things in life, like taking a breath of fresh air.”
The days ahead were grim for Haeg and her mother, as the teen saw her hopes for the future shattered.
“My dreams before the accident were to go to college for interior design,” Haeg said, adding that she had applied to five colleges and been accepted to all, with her first choice having been the Savannah College of Art and Design.
“I really wanted to go there,” she said, adding that she’d been awarded a merit scholarship by the school.
Down the line, Haeg had hoped to open her own shop and design for hotels and offices. “All the professors were amazed at my work, done just in high school. I was so happy,” she said.
But instead of college classes and textbooks, dorms and dances, Haeg found her future filled with horrific injuries and physical challenges.
“Learning to accept my new life was hard,” Haeg said. “I faced many challenges such as looking at myself in the mirror in a wheelchair, having to depend on other people for things like combing my hair, brushing my teeth, washing my face, feeding me, changing the channel on TV, holding the phone for me when I have a call — basically performing my every need.”
Still, Haeg’s can-do spirit has helped her to continue to enjoy pastimes such as shopping and fishing. “When I go out with friends, it uplifts my spirits,” she said.
Last year, she organized a high school reunion for her friends at Soundview in Greenport.
Haeg has also found an outpouring of support in the North Fork community that has come together to carry her through the hard times, by helping to remodel her house so that she could live comfortably at home after the accident, and by hosting yearly fundraisers in her honor.
To others that might be facing the same challenges, Haeg shares her outlook on life. “I like to encourage other people facing the same situation I’m in to look past their injury and go out and do the things they love to do.”
