Skiing with Madman Poole

A couple of weeks ago, something really cool happened. Paralympic skier David "Madman" Poole was on his way to compete in the X-Games and he stopped in Park City to ski with me and my brother. We had A LOT OF FUN! Madman is an awesome skier so awesome that he even had a photographer with him. (wraysinclair.com) He goes super fast but, he crashed more than I did! Madman taught me some stuff to help me ski better and his attitude about sit skiing is super cool. He said that skiing makes him "feel free." I agree! 

A big group of our friends came to ski too, it was so fun to have them there skiing and snow boarding with us. We usually have a big group show up to ski with us but, my Uncle Jordan, Aunt Teralin and instructor Jeff are the best! They teach me something new every week. I'm so glad I got to meet David Madman Poole and ski with him for a while. Check out my photos from the day and make sure you visit Madman's blog. www.madmanpoole.com

"If you truly desire it, you will try harder!"         - David Madman Poole

Utah has tons of cool places to swim. Last summer we went to two awesome swimming spots. First we Went to the Crater in Midway Ut. The crater is natural spring water inside a big crater. It's so cool! The water is always warm because of natural minerals in the spring. People who swim are required to wear a life jacket, but some people scuba dive there too. The crater is mostly wheelchair accessible and it's a nice place to relax. 

 The second awesome swimming spot I went to was Flaming Gorge. It's located in the Uinta Basin and its a great place to go swimming on a hot day. The water is cool and the scenery is beautiful. It's not very wheelchair friendly. My older brothers had to carry me and my little brother down a steep rocky hill so that we could get in the water. It was a great day swimming though!

If you haven't been to these swimming holes, you should go. Walking people are welcome too!
Keep on wheeling!  

KSL story here
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=35690719&nid=148&title=brothers-with-spina-bifida-share-wheelchair-adventures

Not All Adventures Are Fun!

I get to have a lot of fun adventures, but not all adventures are fun. 
     The past year has been full of surgery and long hospital stays. It started last September when my shunt stopped working. (I have a VP shunt that drains the fluid out of my brain. This just happens naturally for most people, but my fluid won't drain without the shunt.) I was at school when I got a really bad headache. My dad took me home from school and called the doctor. While we were waiting for the doctor to call back I started having really bad seizures. My big brother called 911 and an ambulance took me to Primary Children's Hospital. I was taken right into surgery to replace the broken shunt. After surgery I couldn't remember much. I didn't know who I was or who my parents were. It took about four days before my brain turned back on. Honestly, I don't remember much about those four days. I remember that I thought my friend Kyson was shooting me with something and I thought I was hanging on the wall. I'm glad that's over!  
     In February, my little brother had a muscle flap surgery at Primary Children's to repair a super bad pressure sore that caused bacteria in his spine. He had lots of infection symptoms and he got really sick. I don't know much about the surgery, but he was stuck in bed for three months and he is still taking antibiotics to prevent infection. Now he has a new awesome scar on his bum. We all call him Franken-bum!
     In March while my brother was recovering, my turn came again. My spine has had a curve that has been getting worse for years. I've had back pain since I was little, and I've never been able to sit up straight. It was a BAD curve! My mom and dad let me decide if I wanted to have a surgery to fix it or not. On March 31st, I went to Shriners Hospital where an awesome team of doctors spent over 12 hours straightening my back. I kind of had two surgeries in one; first the doctors took out one of my ribs on the left side, then they flipped me over and used my rib to help straighten my back.
     When I woke up it SUCKED! I was in tons of pain and I was on a ventilator to help me breathe. I didn't like that at all. I was in the hospital for almost three weeks. My parents stayed with me the whole time, like they always do. After I got home from the hospital I was stuck in bed for a long time. My little brother was still stuck in bed because of his surgery, so we hung out and watched lots of movies. As we improved, our friends in Shriners Hospital Seating and Mobility department got us new wheelchair seating to help prevent future problems. Those guys are great. 

    We're back to normal now and back to having fun. Our family is grateful to all of the awesome medical professionals at Primary Children's Hospital and Shriners Hospital for Children for the great way that they always take care of us. Without them we couldn't have the quality life that we have.

     Check back soon to read about my adventure swimming inside of a mountain.... I'm not kidding!

Until then, keep on wheelin'!

Deer Hunt

Last October I got to go hunting with my dad and uncle for the first time. It was so much fun. We camped near a place called Miller's Flat and we stayed up by the campfire until it was super late, telling jokes and laughing.  My dad and I slept in our SUV and my uncle slept in a tent. It was so cold at night, but I was warm in my sleeping bag. In the morning, we got up at sunrise and started hunting from the car. We drove all over on dirt roads and we took some roads that were pretty bumpy. We looked for deer in every draw, but we didn't find any. We did see a big brown bear. It was pretty close, running away from us. That was cool! Well.... for my first hunt, we came home empty handed, but I had tons of fun and I can't wait to go again! 

Fishing in Utah is Great!

Fishing is a great low effort adventure anyone can enjoy right? Well.... A wheelchair makes fishing a little more high effort, but it's worth it. Fishing with my brother and my dad is a lot of fun. Sometimes it's hard getting the chairs through the mud or brush and sometimes we have to ditch the chairs so we can get to the lake. It's always fun though! The mountains in Utah are great and the lakes are awesome. It doesn't really matter if we catch fish or not, it's always fun!

Jordanelle Reservoir

Mill Hollow 

Dad's muddy boot

The Only Real Disability in Life is a Bad Attitude

Being a kid with Spina Bifida, people ask me a lot of questions about my life, "Why are you in a wheel chair?" "What sort of things do you do for fun?" Really, I'm just like every other kid. I love to be active, I love sports,  I love the outdoors, and Spina Bifida doesn't stop me from doing anything. This blog is a way for me to share my activities and adventures with you; and hopefully I can inspire other kids in wheelchairs to make their own adventure dreams come true.

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude." - Scott Hamilton

So lets get started....
Today my little brother (who also has Spina Bifida) and I spent the day at Park City Ski Resort. We take ski lessens through the National Ability Center there every year. It's AWESOME! My ski instructor Jeff is super cool. He lets me go off jumps and doesn't worry if I go too fast. There are a bunch of people who like to come with me. My Aunt Teralin was the one who introduced me to skiing and the National Ability Center. She, my Uncle Jordan and a bunch of their friends who snow board, join me whenever they can. Uncle Jordan sticks with me and takes lots of video/photos. Skiing is not just tons of fun. I'm learning things there that help me become more independent. Every week Jeff and Jordan have me do a little more for myself. I fall down.... and I get myself back up and just keep going.

Today I met a really nice guy named Ben who was in an accident that left him paralyzed. I got to ski with Ben for a while. It was cool to see that he was able to do everything for himself. My Dad says that he likes me to meet grown ups like Ben because they're a good example for me.

All in all, it was a great day on the slopes. The weather was great, the snow was perfect and the jumps were AWESOME!!!

Well.... See you on the slopes. Keep on Wheelin'!
Super Wheels