Making Dreams Come True took Abigail adaptive skiing with Higher Ground Adaptive Sports in Sun Valley Idaho, in the Winter of 2016.
Abigail
I live on the beautiful beaches of Waikiki, Hawaii. I’m a Social Media Coordinator as a casual hire for the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Center on Disabilities Studies. I’m aiming for a permanent position at UH in Dec 2016. My challenge is mobility, in correspondent to motor coordination, considering my 60 percent speech impairment. I’m grateful for my supporters and current employers who help thru my academic professional career.
The highlight of this adventure was actually feeling snowflakes on my face and sliding on icy mountains in the western part, with a well-developed adaptive program called Higher Ground. I pushed myself to try the standing ski slider even though the boots were painful. Being sponsored to be the first to model and share my aloha spirit “mana”, my experience for MDCT all the in Idaho. This 4- day trip rapidly changed my life and my future perceptions, imagining I could live in a similar geographical area, likely in a city. I often had doubts if I were to transition from the Hawaiian Islands to reach for a higher promising career (for a living), and model for other similar non-profit organizations like MDCT and Higher Grounds.
A flight to Sun Valley was the farthest I’ve traveled solo, therefore I feel all my dreams came to a reality, looking at the slopes I exhilarated thru the window from the Dollar Mountain Lodge. Lastly, as a person living with incapacitated motor coordination, I feel physically stronger, mightily braver, I could return on the waves, easily stand up and rip wave.
I hope like see more participants join High ground, skiing. This increased disability awareness regarding people with physical barriers, with more abilities and talents.
