Family and Friends,
I hope this finds you all healthy and happy. In case you haven't picked up the word on the coconut telegraph, I'm in Colorado. With trailer loads of help from my family and friends (gracious applause), I weighed anchor in San Diego September 1 and transplanted to Steamboat Springs. As much as I love San Diego and all the friends and fond memories I've gathered there over 16 years, my craving for new experience has gotten the better of me, so here I am in the Rockies!
Shortly after my spinal cord injury, nearly 4 years ago, I promised myself I would ski again someday...someday is here! Opportunity has led me to Casey's Pond, a top-notch skilled nursing facility near the base of Mt. Werner, the location of Steamboat Ski Resort. My brother Dan, his wife Clare, and their boys Caz and Soren live just down the road and have gone out of their way to welcome me to the community. It's a huge shift, coming from San Diego to a county where there are more livestock than people. I'm loving the fresh air and I can see the mountain from my window!
I'm working with the in-house physical and occupational therapists, as well as the adaptive skiing instructors of the Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS) program, to get in shape and learn how to get down the mountain on a new (to me) type of ski gear, the Sit-Ski. I'm excited to take on this new challenge, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn a new version of my life-long passion. It's definitely humbling to be a beginning skier again, but re-connecting with the mountains is already producing positive impacts on my mind, body, and spirit.
So that's the scoop- I'm thankful to be in a good place and I'm so very grateful to my family and friends for helping me get here. I wish all of you the very best this holiday season!
