Two years ago while making practice runs at the 2007 USASA Nationals at Northstar-At-Tahoe 14-year-old Tyler Eklund of Bend, Oregon broke his C-3 vertebrae leaving him paralyzed. But thanks to the work of friends he made it back on Mt. Bachelor snow on Sunday February 15, 2009 according to a story on Kgw.com.
Strapped into a “sit-ski” made by Oregon Adaptive Sports, Eklund packed along his ventilator, and had his breathing tubes wrapped in hand warmers to keep them from freezing. . . . “It feels awesome – a dream come true, pretty much,” Eklund told NewsChannel 21 in Bend Sunday. When asked how long he’d been waiting to get back on the snow, he said, “Pretty much since the first day I got hurt. Just to come up and do it again, it feels awesome.”
Makes us realize how much we take for granted and how strong Tyler and his family are to make this happen again. We’re glad Tyler can still enjoy the ride.
[Link: KGW.com]
