Fishing Is The Best Medicine

Tommy Barnwell, 20, of Wilcox County, with a super bass he caught. He doesn’t let an auto accident that put him into a wheelchair keep him from fishing.

“I couldn’t help but overhear y’all talking about fishing,” the boy in the wheelchair said with a big grin as he rolled over to me.

I was at a birthday party in Fitzgerald for my 6-year-old’s classmate recently when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a young man in a wheelchair come through the doors. He was smiling and laughing. The older man I was speaking to was recounting his life lived in Venezuela, a life of adventure and danger. Then, the man began to tell, in animated detail, of his catching peacock bass and piranhas in the rivers of South America. That’s when the smiling boy in the wheelchair came over to introduce himself as Tommy Barnwell.

Fishing was the instant connection; there was a feeling of friendship that I couldn’t describe. Hunting and fishing can do that to people. Those who don’t enjoy the outdoors can’t understand the feeling, but the powers in our hunting and fishing pursuits are strong and deep and real.

“Man, I have always loved fishing,” Tommy began, “ever since I was big enough to hold a fishing pole!”

The 20-year-old outdoorsman from Wilcox County proceeded to show me pictures of big, and I mean BIG, bass he has caught over the past couple of years. I checked out his Instagram page tommy_barnwell20  and saw nothing but fish pictures. Below his Instagram name said: “Got a lot of problems but catching fish ain’t one!!” Yeah, he’s the real deal.

Nearly three years ago on April 21, 2022, Tommy was involved in a terrible auto accident while he was heading home from his work on a sod farm. He ran off the right side of the road, but the steep shoulder caused him to overcorrect too sharply. His Yukon flipped numerous times, throwing him from the driver’s window.

“It’s a miracle I didn’t die,” admitted Tommy. “And it’s another miracle that I’m not a quadriplegic. I broke my neck at C6-C7, but amazingly I can still use my arms.”

He was taken to Shepherd Center in Atlanta for surgery and rehabilitation. That’s where the nightmares and depressing thoughts set in.

“I was in really rough shape, fighting depression. I was wondering if I would ever get to be in a relationship, or get married, or have kids,” Tommy said. “But then, two months after my wreck, a group came in and took a few of us spinal patients to Piedmont Park (in midtown Atlanta) to fish. The fishing in that pond was not good, and I only caught one little bream, but that meant the world to me. That was the first time I felt ‘at home’ after my injury.”

As we know, fishing is more than fishing. For someone like Tommy, it’s medicine… the best kind. It’s a gift from God. Where would Tommy be without it? Fishing has helped him cope with the worst trauma of his young life and has helped strengthen his faith in God.

“I’m a rolling testimony,” Tommy said. “I know things happen for a reason, and I know God is using my injury for something good. And I thank God that I can still fish!”

So, you decide if fishing is just a pastime or a way of life. You decide if you are ‘too busy’ to get on the water. This is the important stuff in life, y’all. It can literally heal us… physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It can connect us with people and allow friendships to form, so don’t just fish alone. Include others. Introduce them. Take a kid. I’ve heard it said that shared joy is double joy; shared sorrow is half sorrow. Life is just better with a friend.

Without fishing, I likely would have never gotten a chance to know Tommy. It was our common love for the outdoor way of life that brought us together, and I am sure that he and I will share a spot on a bank or in a boat one day soon. If you know me, then you know that I love writing about the giants in my life, those people of faith who lift me up, encourage and motivate me, and in general make me a better man. These giants are the reason I am where I am today, the reason that I can stand tall on sturdy shoulders. I am nothing without my giants.

And thanks to fishing, I believe I just found another….