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Still a Man in Motion

Rick Hansen chalks up another first — skiing "I wouldn’t trade my life to date for the use of my legs, absolutely not.

Rick Hansen chalks up another first — skiing

"I wouldn’t trade my life to date for the use of my legs, absolutely not. But at the same time, if I could have the privilege of, whether through skiing or through new technologies, have things open up or even one day walk again, life would be even better."

— Rick Hansen

By Robyn Cubie

Having anyone tell you that their life is better and richer for having lost the ability to walk is a mind-blowing concept for most able-bodied people. Especially perhaps in a community such as Whistler, whose very foundations lie in the sheer joy of pure physical interaction with the outdoors.

Yet paraplegic Rick Hansen and the Whistler Adaptive Ski Program set out last weekend to put across the clear message that the main barriers to achieving dreams lie in attitudes, rather than disabilities. And to drive the message home, last Saturday Hansen undertook a lifelong dream for the first time on Whistler mountain – he went skiing. As for the verdict?

"It far exceeded my wildest expectations," he says "I’m going to be going up here in Whistler as much as I can – the ski season is almost over, but come October-November, I’m going to be here in a big way."

Hansen and his family were invited to learn to ski by the Whistler Adaptive Ski Program, an organization largely run by volunteers that enables people with disabilities to ride and ski on Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. He says he was amazed by the quality of the instructors and the equipment.

"I’d had visions of being fairly limited in a sit-ski in terms of manoeuvrability and balance," he says. "I thought it would take a very long time to gain any meaningful experience but it was absolutely fantastic."

The sit-ski equipment used by Hansen has a bucket-type seat that is attached to a single ski. Steering and balance are aided by two hand-operated outriggers. Hansen says by the end of the day he was skiing freely, although still tethered to his instructor to avoid picking up too much speed. He believes the sit ski seems more natural and intuitive than regular standup skiing.

"Maybe because I come from the world of wheelchair racing where I’m used to making my chair move," he explains. "I watched (sit ski instructors) Steve Napier and Helen Cooke moving effortlessly up and down on the slopes, going fast under control, thinking wow, that’s inspiring. I can see what the sport has to offer and how liberating it is to get out in the mountains, enjoy the environment, be with friends and have a great experience."

Hansen is certainly no stranger to outdoor recreation and sport. Prior to the motor vehicle accident in 1973 that left him paralyzed at the age of 15, Hansen was an extremely active and athletic youth. After coming to terms with his disability, he went on to win 19 international wheelchair marathons, and compete in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. However, the event that really cemented him in the public consciousness was his Man in Motion tour from 1985 to 1987, that saw him wheel 40,000 kilometres around the world, through 34 countries on four continents and raise $24 million for spinal cord injury research and rehabilitation. But the road did not stop there. A banner erected upon Hansen’s triumphal return to Canada in 1987 foretold it well: "Welcome home Rick – the end is just the beginning."

To date, the Rick Hansen Institute that grew out of that tour has raised more than $37 million for spinal injury research. Speaking at the invitation-only reception in Whistler on Saturday, April 7, Hansen announced plans to launch 15-year anniversary celebrations of the tour next year by encouraging spinally injured people and their families and friends to retrace the Man in Motion routes – the goal being to refocus the public spotlight on the issue and raise millions on an annual basis.

According to the Institute, the bulk of research into improving the lives of paralyzed people has occurred in the past 10 years through the work of Hansen and other role models such as Christopher Reeve, who became a quadriplegic after a horse-riding accident. Hansen says the Institute also plans to create an international spinal cord research centre in Vancouver and he firmly believes a cure is still possible.

"I believe someone with a spinal cord injury will have chance to summit Mount Everest, go into space to carry out research and that the wheelchair will be something you only see in a museum."

However, he says not enough eligible people know about resources such as the adaptive ski program, so targeted marketing is needed to reach those groups.

"If you look at the statistics we should be looking at an unbelievable number of people coming up here if they knew about it and if we had the support," he says. According to Hansen, some 16 per cent of the adult population in North America has at least one definable disability and this figure is tipped to grow with the aging population. He says attitudes are changing for the better.

"I think a lot of people grew up with the old stigma about disability and it’s harder to sometimes shift gears and start thinking about it differently," he explains. "When people with disabilities first started to emerge into the community they were looking at very basic things such as food, housing and jobs, but now we’re looking into more broader things such as families, social interaction, recreation and quality of life."

He says people want access to everything from skiing and boating, to hiking and sailing, especially when they see sports being pioneered by new role models with disabilities.

As Hansen has become a hero and role model to many, he had his mentor in Stan Strong – one of the first surviving paraplegics from the 1930s, when antibiotics were not widely available. He recalls one of the first times he met Strong. "He came driving up in this little convertible with a big cheesy grin on his face," he says. "I was sitting there pouting, feeling sorry for myself and thinking, ‘What have you got to be happy about – don’t you know you’re in a wheelchair for the rest of your life?’"

Hansen says Strong recognized his natural athletic ability, "giving me his time and support to remove the barriers that didn’t have to be there and by refusing to be a victim."

Throughout his 45-minute speech, Hansen spoke of his personal journey to overcome the physical but mostly mental boundaries brought about by his spinal injury. He says attitudes are changing for the better, but educating people can be a slow process.

"My wheelchair basketball team was on a tour and we were all moving through the airport in uniforms to catch the plane," he recalls with a chuckle. "We were a mixed ability bunch with some able-bodied coaches, some on crutches and some in wheelchairs. As we paraded past the airport bar this guy came out who had obviously had a few drinks. He called out, ‘Hey are you guys some sort of team?’ I said yeah, we play basketball and the man replied, ‘Holy Mackerel, that must have been one hell of a game!’"

Hansen also spoke movingly of his love for his wife and physiotherapist, Amanda, whom he met after dislocating his shoulder before the Boston marathon, and his friends and brother, who always kept him in good spirits, if not trouble.

"My buddies built this three foot square crate to sit on top of the motorhome for the Man in Motion tour which kicked off in B.C in front of some national TV crews," he says. "As the motorhome left to catch up with me it reached an overhead height warning bar and for some reason, my buddies climbed on the roof to move it and then drove on." The resulting TV footage showed the vehicle plowing neatly into the tunnel roof and the crate shattering.

"You can imagine the confidence of those 200 well-wishers at that moment – yeah, this guy’s wheeling around the world in a wheelchair and he can’t even get out of the parking lot," he laughs.

Fittingly perhaps, upon his return to B.C. two years, two months and two days later, the closing ceremony was crowned with the welcome back banner falling down.

Hansen says organizations like the Whistler Adaptive Ski Program open the door to whole new world for people with disabilities and also show able-bodied people that anything can be achieved if the will is there.

"We all have disabilities of some sort, whether they are physical or not, but what counts is our ability, our attitudes about how we handle our challenges, that we never give up hope and that we always find a way to achieve our goals and dreams."

See you on the slopes next season, Rick.