We Can Be Heroes: Shana Verstegen
Six-time log rolling and boom-running champion Shana Verstegen (née Martin) has been featured on ESPN, The Travel Channel, and Outdoor Life Network. Verstegen’s sports of choice demand a daunting blend of strength, balance, endurance, and agility.
The physical state that allows the 34-year-old athlete and fitness trainer to stay atop logs that are bobbing in water while spinning them with her feet, and win by making her competitor lose her balance is complemented by her training in pole vaulting, gymnastics, and karate.
In 1986, Verstegen’s mother, Deborah Martin, was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. Martin succumbed to respiratory complications from the disease in March 2013. Verstegen, who married her husband, Peter, in November 2013, has not been tested for Huntington’s. Community spoke to Verstegen about her plans for the future, her mother’s legacy of strength and determination, and the freedom Verstegen finds in log-rolling.
I first learned about Huntington’s disease in our hotel room at the Mayo Clinic. My dad set out a bunch of materials provided by the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) about what Huntington’s disease is, what to expect, and caregiving.
My parents sat down and explained to me exactly what to expect over the next several years, and how my mom would lose her ability to walk, talk, and care for herself. But they also showed me all the research that was happening.
My dad said, ‘All these people are working really hard to make sure that your mom gets better.’
And then my dad flipped a coin.
He said, ‘These are your chances of also having Huntington’s disease.’
My question was, ‘Well, which one is it? Heads or tails?’ He said, ‘I can’t tell you that.’ But… he always went right back to: ‘All this research is happening.’
He truly believed they would have a cure before it came to my time. Unfortunately, they don’t yet.
I began log rolling at the YMCA swimming pool. I loved the fact that it was so unique and fun! Log rolling has always been my escape. As a child, when I showed up for practice, nothing else in the world, not even how sick my mother was, bothered me. It was my time to have fun with friends and do something I love. It still is!
What I think is most important for caregivers and those newly diagnosed with Huntington’s disease to know is that life is not over upon diagnosis. No matter what challenge we face, we all need to live life to the fullest and love and appreciate those closest to us.
With my career as a fitness professional and all of my athletic competitions throughout the year, daily workouts are part of my life. I don’t think of [the possibility of ] delaying Huntington’s disease while I exercise, just about having fun and performing well. If I do have the disease, of course, a delayed onset would be a wonderful benefit.
After my mom had to move into a nursing home for safety reasons in 1993, my dad and I made a promise to spend time with her at least once every week. This became our ‘family day.’
While she was still mobile, we would go on various adventures around southern Wisconsin and out to eat. When she was no longer able to leave the nursing home, we would spend time there, telling her about what was new in our lives and watching movies. After her passing in March of 2013, my dad and I continue this weekly tradition of family day.
My mother used her battle with Huntington’s disease to teach some very important lessons. She taught us to smile, to give, to be strong and independent and stubborn—to fight for what we believe in, to love unconditionally, embrace family, live every day to the fullest, and to sing.
My life is absolutely amazing now, and part of it is because I can hold onto hope. I fear a positive test result will take that hope away from me. But through my involvement with HDSA, I’ve met so many people who are positive with Huntington’s disease and are living their lives just as fully as I live mine.
This year may mark a change in my decision to not be tested, but that is a decision my husband and I will have to make after much thought.
As for the future, I will continue packing 30 hours into each 24-hour day, and working my hardest to do my part to find a cure for Huntington’s disease. I also, more than anything, want to become a mom.
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