FINAL UPDATE - This Isn't the Make A Wish Foundation

So apparently the meeting went down this past Sunday. I was spared having to attend by the board, and for that I'm eternally grateful. I'm told that he handled it gracefully, and understood that not only was it about his own personal safety, but the safety of his fellow rowers needed to be taken into consideration.

However, I'm told from different sources, who saw him after the fact, that he was deeply hurt and fairly resentful of how it went down. I completely empathize. I feel awful that I'm a part of taking away something that not only was emotionally important to him, but also a crucial part of his physical activity to slow the advancement of the disease.

He came up to me on Tuesday to thank me for my coaching, and to "say goodbye". It was 8 minutes of total awkwardness where I tried to assure him that I admired his efforts to stay active and it was a pleasure to coach him. It was one of those conversations with no end though, no simple, "well, take care" to get yourself out of. Just me and him staring at each other, not trying to make too much eye contact.

He'll still be around the boathouse. He was given a "lifetime membership" to use the facilities and to thank him for all his time and efforts to improve the program. Hopefully he'll keep coming down and working out, and (selfishly) hopefully I won't have to talk to him too much anymore... now we have 2 months to try and teach the rest of his group how to really row...