Adaptive Ski Trip Feb 2021

 

In February of this year I had the privilege of going on a ski trip with an amazing group of fellow veterans  to Crested Butte, CO for some adaptive skiing at the Adaptive Sports Center . It was my first trip in nearly a decade that didnt involve anything medically related with doctor appointments or surgeries! It was an amazing and unfamiliar feeling!! 

 We where out there for 7 days, flew in on a Sunday and back out the following Saturday, so we got a full 5 days of awesome powder. We stayed at the ASC, 1 level below that rooftop deck pic. They have an entire adaptive floor for housing and then you just take the elevator to the lower level in the mornings to put on the equipment and ski out to the lift line. It had absolutely incredible views of the mountains; made it hard to come back to the city and all the concrete.

 We went through our local veterans sports group associated with Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana or RHI They procured a grant for us all to go which covered our entire trip!                               

I participated using a device called a sit ski or bi-ski bc it has 2 skis underneath. There is a monoski with just one ski option as well. I started with a bi-ski bc it was my first time adaptive skiing and it offered a bit more stability. The next time I go, I am definitely jumping into the monoski and hitting the slopes! I want to get proficient with the monoski, learn to get on/off the lift by myself and just have fun shredding it down the mountain is the ultimate goal. 

I would love to compete as well in downhill and GS or giant slalom as a dual-sport athlete for Challenged Athlete Foundation or CAF. Right now I am a sponsored for wheelchair racing, but would love to add a winter sport into the mix. 

We had an amazing 5 days filled with skiing and powder action. After losing the ability to run I never thought I would find a sport I would love to do as much until I found adaptive skiing. Just flying down the mountain with the wind in your face; it didn’t matter that my legs didn’t work properly bc the ski gave me freedom. It was such an amazing feeling. A feeling I could repeat everyday and it never get old. I had found my sport. 

I spent a little bit of time learning the basics and fundamentals so that I was a proficient sit-skier. I had 2 instructors with me everyday teaching me and helping me load and unload from the lift so that everything was a safe as possible. I learned so much from everyone and every single person I met was so nice! By the end of the week I went from the bunny hills to going down the blue runs (intermediate) from never having used an adaptive ski at all. I can thank so much of the progress on great instructors! It really was a trip for the memory books and that I’ll cherish forever! 

Our group w/ ASC instructors 

 

It’s Been A Minute From My Last Post & Practically a Whole New Person...

 It’s been more than a minute since my last post and a world of change has occurred. Since my last post, I have had over a dozen more surgeries, countless hospitalizations, dozens of procedures and injections, endless doctors appointments and physical therapy sessions. The biggest change of all that has occurred was that during these surgeries I had a right total arthroplasty that got infected ultimately costing me my entire right hip and subsequently my proximal 1/3rd of my femur. It’s left my right leg 3.5” shorter than my left leg and it nearly impossible to walk without assistance. So, I use crutches for short distances and a wheelchair for everything else. 

It took me a long time to grieve what I had lost and to get to a place that I was at peace with my new body and limitations. Ive come to a place that I know that I won’t be getting a new hip and to keep attempting to try for one is just the definition of insanity. I was tired of constantly having surgeries, recovering from them, complications, infections, antibiotics, PICC lines, central lines, etc., etc. It’s the first time in nearly a decade I dont have a surgery planned on the horizon and its the most amazing and unfamiliar feeling. I actually took a vacation this past winter that didnt involve a medical appointment or surgery. 

Skiing in Crested Butte, CO. 

I have decided to not let my limitations hold me back from what I want out of life. I want to go back to school to study medicine to become a Physician’s Assistant or PA. I also just became a sponsored adaptive athlete under the Challenged Athlete Foundation - Operation Rebound in wheelchair racing. And I plan on becoming a dual sport athlete so in winter I do adaptive skiing in downhill and giant slalom. I am an Auntie to 3 amazing nieces and a nephew. And my best friend is pregnant with a little boy and another nephew for me. I can’t wait to spoil him rotten along with the other littles. They range in ages from almost 8 years old to newborn. 

 Grandpa w/ Eva, Ryker & Eloise 

Parker 

I never thought that I would find myself in this position in my life, but I also wouldnt change it. I have amazing family and friends. I have a wonderful medical team. I work with a great nonprofit, Miles4Hips( Www.Miles4Hips.com) and I get to help others with hip dysplasia via my PAO facebook group with co-admin Mary. I also pay it forward to others my sending out PAO bracelets in which PAO stands for Persevere And Overcome. PAO is also the initials of the surgery used to correct hip dysplasia. It feels good to help others or just lift their spirits.