Courage Comes In Many Forms
Meet Shaun Nelson, age 28. This
courageous young man was told that he would never be able to walk, ride a bike,
or
play sports.
Shaun is now in a wheelchair because of a degenerative spinal disease that has
progressed in the last seven years. He started to lose the strength in his legs,
and then was diagnosed with Spinal Cerebral Ataxia. This fatal disease has no
known cure, and is presently slowly working its way up Shaun’s spine.
This past September, Shaun biked 277 miles from “Ground Zero,” the site of former World Trade Centers, to the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Shaun and five other members of “Team Ability” from the National Ability Center in Park City participated in The Face of America Bike Ride, a tribute to honor those who perished on September 11th. Over 1,400 people from all walks of life and from all over the world came together to express their heartfelt sense of oneness. The journey was rigorous, demanding, yet fulfilling; 75 miles the first day, 120 the next, 75 on the final leg.
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Trip to Lake Powell |
“ The Face of America Ride is unforgettable to me because of the great friends I made and the great people who were there when the going got tough. They cheered for you; they cried for you; they helped you know that you could make it, and that the journey was worthwhile and that you were a part of that journey” says the rider himself.
“Adventures such as this used to be only in my dreams. The National Ability Center has made my dreams come true. Since I found the Ability Center four years ago, I feel courage, confidence and the “ability” to tackle life head on and LIVE! I now take an active part in life; I snow ski, water ski, hand cycle, play quad rugby, and more.”
“We are so proud of Shaun,” says Meeche White, Executive Director of the National Ability Center and organizer of “Team Ability” for the Face of America Bike Ride. “He pushed himself farther then I thought was humanly possible, but in the end it was his own self will and commitment that forged him forward.”
The National Ability Center, located in Park City, has been offering outdoor integrated recreation for people with disabilities for over 13 years. Each program is designed to include both disabled and non-disabled participants, including those with orthopedic, spinal cord, cognitive and developmental. Water skiing, horseback riding, skiing, snowboarding, cycling, canoeing, rock climbing and leadership courses are all offered by the center.
Several other outfitters offer adaptive outdoor adventures throughout Utah. High Desert Adventures, based in St. George, works in tandem with Colorado Discover Ability Center on various southwestern rivers, as well as sea kayaking on Lake Powell. On the San Juan River, Arizona Raft Adventures, aka AZRA, runs three River Rampage trips for teens each summer in conjunction with the City of Phoenix. On each trip half of the participants have various disabilities, usually two in wheelchairs. The other half is made up of youths who are challenged in entirely different ways. Some are juvenile offenders and others might be at risk. To quote Alex Elliott of AZRA, “the genius behind this program is in putting these two populations into the same outdoor experience. Each has something profound to teach the other that usually begins with compassion.”
Splore, a non-profit outfitter based in Salt Lake City, has been running several Utah rivers, including the Colorado through Westwater Canyon, for people with disabilities since 1979. And although the company also offers programs in Cross country skiing, rock climbing and canoeing, they claim that river running is the most adaptive activity and serves the greatest diversity of clients.
• National Ability
Center: 435/649-3991
• High Desert Adventures: 800/673-1733
or www.boathda.com
• Arizona Raft Adventures: 800/7867238
or www.azraft.com
• Splore: 801/484-4128 or www.splore.org