Disabilities in Sport doesnt Mean a Life on the Sidelines

Email To a Friend 13 June 2009 My husband Bill unfortunately was involved in a really bad car accident 5years ago and thankfully survived. As a result of the accident, his legs had to be amputated from the knee down and he has been wheelchair ridden ever since. In the effort to help him recover, I was able to begin working from home. It hasn’t been easy watching him in helpless situations and wished there was a way that I could help him to mentally cope with the changes that have occurred in his life. He has been down ever since and misses being able to get around independently. Most of all, I remember when skiing used to bring him joy. Now he is mostly bedridden, has to be escorted in a wheelchair and is ineligible for prosthetic legs to help him get around due to extensive nerve damage.

I still love him dearly and wish that there was something that I could do to help lift his spirits and help him become more optimistic about his life despite this minor setback. While looking at physical therapy options for him online, I discovered a link to a company called Disability Snow sport.

They are located 2 hours away at Cairngorm Mountain in Avimore. I saved the info to surprise my husband with a trip to a Skiathon in Edinburgh to see other active individuals with disabilities compete in his favourite activity. The local program was in its off-season and I thought this would be refreshing to take a trip a see my husband in his element.

We went to the marathon and he loved it. I immediately saw his eyes light up as he witnessed other people with all sorts of physical ailments, have fun and ski with little or no reservations. I remember him turning to me with teary eyes to tell me how much he loved me, thanking me for giving him an opportunity to do what he loves. He couldn’t wait until next winter so that he could participate in these festivities.

I couldn’t be happier to see him more active. Doing a 360 degree turn since our trip to Edinburgh, he has a more positive outlook and works out in anticipation of taking part in the Disability Snowsport program this winter. He even has been considered to be a youth instructor! Who says that you have to stop living if your disabled, not Bill!

Bill Riley, Cornwall.

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