Alex Tucker spent most of his life traversing Utah’s slopes until a climbing accident two years ago left him paralyzed.
But through a monthly ski day organized by a therapeutic program at the U, Tucker and a few other paralyzed ski enthusiasts were able to take runs down slopes at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort on Saturday afternoon.
“I love it, but it’s not like those times before I got hurt,” said 27-year-old Tucker, a former Park City snowboarding instructor.
Tucker’s father, Van Tucker, said that his goal is to get an adapted ski and head out on the slopes to ski whenever Alex wants to.
“It makes (Alex) extremely happy,” Van Tucker said. “It gives him that much more freedom. It really excited him. He couldn’t sleep the night before.”
Tucker and two other Therapeutic Recreation And Independent Lifestyles participants, Kim Walton and Cliff Christiansen, participated in winter sports before they were paralyzed. TRAILS is a recreational program associated with the University Health Care Rehabilitation Center at the U. Walton skied in high school and college and Christiansen used to snowboard.
Skiers secured themselves to the monoskis, single boards on which riders face forward to turn while sitting on an attached chair, and took off down the steep slopes. Christiansen said his wife encouraged him to try skiing despite his paralysis.
“I didn’t know if I was going to like it or not, but I really liked it,” Christiansen said.
The program was started in 2004 by a group of people interested in helping patients with spinal cord injuries become more active.
Jeff Rosenbluth, leader of the program, said that the main goal of TRAILS is to get patients back into the activities they participated in before their injuries.
This is the second winter TRAILS has organized a ski day for patients, but skiing is just one of the recreational opportunities offered by the program. Tucker and other patients also give hand cycling a try instead of bicycling and other patients are even training for a marathon. Patients can also canoe, kayak, swim and camp with the adaptive equipment provided for them by the program at a cheaper cost.
Walton came to Salt Lake City for the scuba-diving program, but when that was canceled, she decided it would be fun to try skiing.
After a morning of skiing, Walton said her initial nervousness vanished quickly and she was having fun.
Tanja Kari, program coordinator, said the recreational program greatly benefits patients, and they love participating. She said that 95 percent of patients who have skied with TRAILS in the past have then signed up by themselves at other ski resorts. Van Tucker volunteers with TRAILS for certain events and activities and said he enjoys
working with participants doing hand cycling, which he does about four to six hours each week.
“This is a marvelous program. I do everything they have to offer,” Van Tucker said. “I’m hooked on being a volunteer. Once you’re in it, you’ve got to commit.”
Rosenbluth hopes they will be able to incorporate TRAILS, with all its adaptive equipment, into the lower campus of the U to make it a friendlier place for spinal cord injury patients and others with disabilities.
The program hopes to include other sports with an expanding number of participants and volunteers. Nearly 400 people in the TRAILS program have participated in recreational activities.
Kari said that in the future they hope to do more programming to keep expanding.
With funding, they will be able to do that. Rosenbluth said that many different foundations support TRAILS, including their biggest contributor, the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation.
The U, South Davis Hospital and Neurowrx, a physical therapy clinic, work together to provide local patients with a $35 gym membership where they have unlimited access to equipment and a physical therapist.
“It’s a nice way to keep people involved,” Rosenbluth said. “We really need to think about wellness and keeping people alive and well fit.”
Sue SandwickWally Lee mono skis allowing him to continue skiing despite being paralyzed. The U therapeutic program organizes a monthly ski day for patients.