"Beats Sitting On The Couch!"

(Photo; Tom and Challenge client, child NOT connected to letter)

TURNING LIMITATIONS INTO POSSIBILITIES

Excerpts from a Letter to the Editor of the Turnagain Times in May, 2006

I skied with my family today. It's not possible to express how amazing that is. I skied with all my family. Not that remarkable unless you consider that my oldest daughter is severely disabled and must use a bi-ski. All of this is possible because of the folks at Challenge Alaska, a group of people committed to making the mountains accessible to those with the greatest disabilities. Not just the
able among us, but my oldest as well. Everything is possible for her there. Her limitations are flipped into possibilities, her differences celebrated, honored and respected. She is just another kid who wants to ski, to spend a day on the mountain like everyone else.

The dream of sharing the mountains with my wife and kids has been a part of me since I dreamed of such things. The only reason I can do that now is because of Challenge Alaska and a man named TOM BEATTY. He has taught me all the skills necessary to safely tether a bi-ski down the slopes of Alyeska. Lots to learn over the course of the winter; how to load and unload a bi-ski from the chairlift, how to tether it down the runs without causing harm to my own child or the countless others out there having fun. TOM has taught me much more than that. He taught me that my oldest daughter can do much more than her overprotective father ever thought she could. And no matter the weather or conditions, when asked if we should come down for the weekend, TOM always said the same thing, “beats sitting on the couch.”

I have had the greatest winter of my life this year. I spent 25 days on the mountain with my kids, one of whom can't walk or talk. But she can ski like no one I've ever seen before. And the smile on her face at the end of each run could light up an Alaskan winter night. And her siblings see her in a new way now. See her as an equal, as a sister that can do stuff.

So there we are now, my wife and two youngest children bombing all over the hill, my oldest and I arcing a turn toward the bottom. We don't need anyone's help to ski anymore. We can do something by ourselves and that freedom can only be felt by those of us lucky enough to know the privilege of raising a child with differences. Besides, it sure beats sitting on the couch.