Today We Feel Fortunate
Lindsey: Both students I worked with today had down syndrome. While both Courtney and Caleb shared similar traits like smiling a lot, hugging and singing while skiing, they were completely different. Courtney and I had a blast building snow castles, skiing up/down the magic carpet and dancing. Caleb on the other hand wasn't very verbal except for when my instructor and I started to sing "Old McDonald", in which case he would scream animal noises at the top of his lungs. I loved hanging out with both Courtney and Caleb today because their families came and skied with us. Working with these kids is so special because it gives their families a chance to do an activity together get forget about their problems, if only for a couple hours.
Connor: In the morning, I worked with an amazing little girl named Jessa. She loved going fast in a bi-unique ski and it was so fun to watch her throw her arms up in the air everything we went down the hill. One of the best parts about Jessa is her loving father, Kent. He loves to make her smile and laugh. I also saw Kent tether Jessa as we went down the hill, which was such a remarkable thing to watch. Jessa's laugh was very contagious and it made working with her and her father such a blast. In the afternoon I helped Brian ski with this father as well. Brian was only to ski two runs, but he was having a blast and again it was fun to see Brian's dad ski with him and also see his mother at the bottom of the hill with her camera. Today is potentially my favorite day because of how much love I saw from each of these families when wanting to give their remarkable children a new and fun experience.
Emma: Today was a really great day for me. I worked with a ten year-old girl named Ana for the day who had a genetic disorder. She was one of the most adorable little girls I have ever met and I had a great time with her. We mostly spent the day working on her turning so it was a pretty slow day. My instructor Carlyn was so patient working with Ana the whole day and I could tell that she truly loved her job. Ana loves Frozen so we spent a lot of time singing songs from the movie as we skied down the mountain. I absolutely loved singing songs with her because I could see how excited it made her. We had multiple snow ball fights for rewards for her doing well and I just really loved spending time with her. When we got back to the office Ana showed me a picture that she drew for me at lunch and it made my day. Hopefully I will get to work with her again!
Lauren: The last two days have been a lot of fun. Yesterday I worked with two little girls, Delaney and Gracie. Delaney has autism, and her legs wore out very quickly as well. We started by having her ski with tethers, and then we switched to a sit ski once she was tired. I loved shadowing her in the sit ski because her laughs and smiles were contagious. The afternoon with Gracie was one of my favorites. We had an amazing instructor that made Gracie so excited. At one point I was pretending to be a cat and she was pretending to be a dog chasing me to get back her bone. Today was just as great. I was with Andy all day. In the morning I honestly could not tell that he had a disability. He was talking up a storm on the ski lift, and he would beg to go through the trees on every run. The afternoon was not as great because Andy was very tired. He had a really big breakdown, and this is when I realized that he had an emotional disorder. It was hard to watch, but I'm so glad that I got to get to know him! I really hope I get to work with these kids again!
Ryan: These past couple days have been incredible for me. Yesterday I got to work with a girl named KK. She was in a car accident when she was 8 and has been in a wheelchair for these past 6 years. She went down a green slope on a mono-ski for the first time. Then in the afternoon, she was on a bi-unique set of skis. We went up to the highest peak in North America, "Imperial". It was all double black diamond terrain and she absolutely crushed it. It was her first time ever doing it and I could not have been more impressed. Then today, I had a half-day with Rishi. Rishi has a moderate case of autism. He was not very motivated today and did not want to expand out onto the mountain. It really tested my patience because he was not willing to listen to directions because he just wanted to play in the snow. So we stayed on the magic carpet for the morning and he was grinning from ear to ear. That was definitely rewarding for me because we were able to give him a great morning.
Adam: Today was by far the best day I have had serving the community since we had arrived in Breckenridge. In the morning I was working with a boy named Brady. Brady and I went down the slope Silverthorne and he was having such a fun time… until the end. At the end of the slope he fell over and had quite the fit. I was most impressed by the way the lead instructor Harriet was able to demonstrate patience and love toward Brady. It took 45 minutes but after Harriet's patience Brady calmed down and had a fantastic rest of the morning. In the afternoon I got to ski with Gracie and it was an amazing experience. This was the first time I really felt the impact that we are having in children and parents in Breckenridge. Gracie's parents are the most caring people I have seen but being able to give them time alone and have us take care of Gracie meant so much to them. I also felt my personal impact by seeing the smile on Gracie's face and hearing her laugh. Today was the first time that Gracie skied without any help and I was able to help so much. She chased me down the mountain or skied from her instructor Rachel's arms to my arms to work on her turning. Going into the trip I felt inadequate to help with something like skiing and seeing the impact I could have even being outside of my comfort zone has been incredible.
Jamie: The past two days I have been so fortunate to get the opportunity to work with a 20 year old guy named Devon. He has a severe traumatic brain injury and is learning how to snowboard. It takes him about an hour and a half to get down each run. He fatigues very quickly so we take breaks very frequently. Despite how difficult it is for him to make it down, he is determined to get better and learn as much as he can. He has vastly improved since just yesterday. It has been really eye opening for me to learn about his experiences going through high school. He told us how he wears his class ring to remind himself how he stayed strong and made it through, despite having suicidal thoughts. It inspired me to try my best to go out of my way to help those around me to have better days. On another note, I have also loved working with Devon's instructor Natalie. She is a truly inspiring human being. She is 27 years old and has traveled all over the world working for a lot of different organizations. I have learned so much from observing her interact with all the students and hearing of all her experiences.
Bianca: Today was the best day thus far for me. In the morning, I was with Rishi, an eleven-year-old boy who has autism, and I had an amazing time! We stayed on the bunny slopes all morning where Rishi had a blast going up and down The Magic Carpet (conveyor belt that takes skiers up the slope) several times. Although he enjoyed skiing when he did it, it was difficult getting him to ski at several points during the morning and we took many breaks and most of them were spent playing in the snow. In the evening, I was with another eleven-year-old boy. Brandon is non-verbal but it was so wonderful seeing his face light up when going up on the chair lifts and seeing how excited he was right before we got off to go down the slopes. He would start clapping. Today was so different from Monday and yesterday morning where I was helping out at another location instead of directly working with the participants; however, both days have been so wonderful and I am glad to have gotten both experiences.
Audrey: Today was an incredible day. In the morning, I was lucky enough to work alongside Jamie with Devon, a 20 year old with a traumatic brain injury. When Devon was an infant, he was in a horrible car accident; it was so bad that doctors did not believe he would survive. However, 20 years later, he graduated high school, is attending a special life college in his hometown, and is learning how to snowboard at the BOEC. Devon fatigues very easily, so it took us nearly two hours to make it down one run. We had to take lots of water (and talking) breaks, but he never gave up. His persistence was so inspiring, especially for me who is still learning how to snowboard myself. One of the best moments of the morning was definitely when the instructor asked me to head down the hill a little and wait so that Devon could snowboard to me. He successfully made several turns independently and made it to the bottom where I was. Just seeing his progress in those two hours was so cool. The second half of the day, I helped out in the main offices. I just did simple tasks like bookkeeping and computer work, but the woman I worked for was really appreciative. She said that she doesn't usually have help like that, which made me feel really great. If this trip has taught me anything, it's that even the littlest things can make the biggest difference in someone's day.
Sarah: I worked with Brandon today who, unlike the two kids I've worked with, is nonverbal. For me, talking is everything. So learning how to interact with a kid nonverbally was challenging, but it was an incredible learning experience. Watching Brandon's excitement as the chairlift reached the end, jumping in his seat and clapping his hands, would make every run as exciting for me as the first time I went down 12 years ago. But once that boy was aiming down hill, there was no chance in slowing him down. I had such an incredible day, learning how to communicate with Brandon through skiing made me realize how special this opportunity is and how lucky I am to be able to volunteer with the BOEC. Another amazing part of my day had to be hearing about Elliott and Claudio's day on the slopes. On Monday Claudio and I skied together, he accomplished his week goal on our third run so we made a new one: going down a blue. Today Claudio not only went down a blue, but did it without a ski spacer and a ski bra, so in non-skier terminology, just with skis. Each student who we've been fortunate enough to work with has taught me so much and to see their progress makes this experience even more meaningful. I'm so sad this week is almost over.
Elliott: I knew of Claudio's passion for sports before the day began, so I was ecstatic when I saw that I was paired with him. I read his file and realized that we would probably be significantly limited in the terrain we would ski, but that suspicion was far from the truth. We immediately jumped into a conversation about collegiate and professional sports. We are both so passionate about sports that the bond was instantaneous. Rather than seeing the disability, as I have done in the past, I saw a seventeen year-old kid who loves the same things that I do. The next thing I knew, we were off the lift, and Claudio was flying down the hill with little instruction. It was clear that he wasn't even being challenged on the green slopes, so we moved to blue (which was his goal for the week), and he didn't so much as falter. The kid is a rockstar. It was inspirational just to ski behind him. Over the course of the day, Claudio managed to remove all of the assistance devices from his skis and ski down a green slope without the use of his arm riggers (support devices for balance and turning assistance). Even with Cerebral Palsy, Claudio was able to ski better than most beginners that I have seen. After his dad saw him ski, he commented that Claudio looked better on skis than in flip-flops! It was an awesome opportunity, and I would love to be paired with him again so that I have more time to convince him to enroll in the University of Missouri.
One of the highlights of my day, aside from working with Claudio, was when I was able to see Dutch (my participant from the first day). I gave him some iron man stickers because we have a mutual bond over superheroes, and the grin on his face said it all. Although I didn't get the chance to race him down the slopes again, it is so awesome to be able to see how happy you can make a child with a simple gesture. Then, after I finished with Claudio, Gracie let me play catch with her and some of her friends. Gracie is a little girl with Down syndrome, but she may be the sweetest girl I have ever met. As she was leaving, she gave all 30 people in the room a huge hug. I love how she just lights up the room with her positivity and love for life.
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