SurvivorNetTV Presents: ‘When Hope Breaks Through’ — A Story of Getting Back on the Board

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Stream 'When Hope Breaks Through on SurvivorNetTV'

‘When Hope Breaks Through’ follows Mike Shoreman, a paddleboarder and business owner who was told in 2018 that he would never hit the water again due to a debilitating neurological condition.
Shoreman defied the odds, and ultimately managed to paddleboard across all five Great Lakes. The hopeful documentary follows his journey and the challenges he faced along the way.
His resilience is akin to what is often found in cancer patients who staunchly refuse to be defined by their diagnosis.

Despite being told he’d never be able to go paddleboarding again due to a debilitating neurological condition, Mike Shoreman defied the odds — and managed to trek across all five Great Lakes. His resilience is akin to what is often found in cancer patients who staunchly refuse to be defined by their diagnosis.

Shoreman always enjoyed being in the water, specifically paddleboarding. He eventually launched a business based on paddleboarding lessons and took his talents across the globe. However, his business and life were upended in 2018 when he started experiencing odd symptoms.

“It started off as bad ear pain that progressed…vertigo, dizziness, my vision started deteriorating,” Shoreman said.

After seeing a doctor and undergoing tests, he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. His condition is a neurological disorder that causes facial weakness or paralysis, leading to dropping. Related symptoms also include ear pain and hearing loss. Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

“I went from being very athletic and fit to not being able to walk,” Shoreman explained.

As he coped with his diagnosis and new reality, he admittedly felt “very alone and isolated,” which significantly affected his mental health.

“Tears just came, and it felt like I had no purpose anymore,” Shoreman said.

The paddleboarding enthusiast managed to go to a crisis and treatment facility to help him cope, which changed his perspective. During treatment, he regained his confidence and rediscovered his purpose in life. Then, he sought out a new goal: paddleboarding across the Great Lakes to raise money for his charity and draw attention to mental health awareness.

Shoreman’s journey is chronicled in the heartwarming documentary “When Hope Breaks Through,” streaming now on SurvivorNetTV. The film takes viewers along for Shoreman’s epic lake crossings, traveling more than 185 miles across the five Great Lakes with his team. Shoreman’s resilience helped him become the first person with disabilities to cross all five Great Lakes.

Shoreman’s story can offer patients battling cancer added hope because, despite the hardships and physical and mental toll your diagnosis will impose on you, you do not have to let it keep you down forever.

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