Park Rapids Rotary Wave Makers Welcome Back Scott and Katy Freitag for 2024 Dragon Boat Festival

The Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival is about time spent with the community, family, and friends. And for one team in particular, the Park Rapids Rotary Wave Makers, that time spent both on and off the boat was more precious than ever this year.

Time is an important element of any race. Whoever has the fastest is usually the winner. But for Scott Freitag, who is fighting stage 4 prostate cancer, and his wife Katy, who heads the Park Rapids Rotary Dragon Boat team, their measurement of time and winning takes on a different meaning.

“Getting cancer is bad, but in some ways it’s a blessing in that you start living like you’re dying because you are dying,” admits Scott. “And with that, with everything you do, you want to squeeze everything out of it that you can.”

One of Scott’s dreams was to ride his bike around the perimeter of the United States. So, when the Freitags decided to pull the trigger to make that dream a reality, many of the people who knew them couldn’t believe it, according to Katy.

“They said, ‘Your husband has stage 4 prostate cancer and he’s taking a year off to bike around the perimeter of the country. Really?’ And I said, ‘Yes, and I’m supporting him.'”

They finished that 11,000-mile journey in June, raising awareness for prostate cancer and schizophrenia along the way. But with anything worth doing comes sacrifice, because time spent on that journey meant less time spent at home doing the things they love.

“Dragon Boat was one of the few things that I was involved with that I had to put on hold and it was very hard to do it,” said Katy. “This is a long tradition for Park Rapids Rotary Wave Makers to participate. And so I knew there was no way that I was leaving until we found people to step in, to make sure we could go forward, and we had [an] amazing group of people that stepped in. It was really wonderful, they did a great job. ”

Pam Burrow, a lead paddler for the Wave Makers, was one of many who stepped up in the team’s time of need during Katy’s absence.

“They’re the core,” Pam said of Scott and Katy. “They had a mission and they needed to pursue that mission. So I just wanted to be a support person for them. I had the experience and it was just a perfect fit for me, to be honored with taking it over for her temporarily.”

This year, the Freitags were back in the boat competing. Katy was back at the helm drumming, and Scott was back paddling alongside his teammates. And even though they didn’t win, both got to spend precious time with those that mean the most to them.

“One of the hardest parts of this journey was that we missed family and friends because we’re really a part of the community here,” lamented Katy. “And this Dragon Boat race is part of being that community. We love it. It was like a part of me was missing when I wasn’t here last year.”

“Me and Katy both love the Dragon Boat,” added Scott. “It’s a blast to be out here with good people, our good teammates, and, you know, like I said, squeeze in as much as you can out of every moment.”

Those moments are limited. Scott’s cancer currently has no cure. And while he and Katy have both resigned themselves to the fact that he will spend the rest of his life battling cancer, the thought that this time could be the last time for Scott at the Dragon Boat Festival is something neither will spend a second being worried about.

“One of the lessons that Scott has taught me is to be present in the moment,” stated Katy, “to take each day and be grateful for each day. I focus on today as a blessing. It’s a gift. Enjoy today and let’s not think about tomorrow.”

“Just attack life,” added Scott. “That’d be a lesson, if I could through my actions and words, trying to get across to people to live your dream.”

By visiting the website milesformoney.org, you can learn about Scott and Katy Freitag’s journey and also learn about their support to raise funds and awareness for Zero Prostate Cancer and the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance, two 501(c)(3) non-profit charities.