Matt Lowell, a physical therapist at a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, decided that he would do what so many people thought was unthinkable: Teach amputees how to ski.
When the camp first began, Lowell recruited the help of volunteers and slowly amassed a collection of donated, specialized ski equipment, which he then arranged to use in lessons specifically catered toward amputees.
After working with so many young amputees at the hospital, Lowell, 44, was inspired to start this camp for his patients who had finally finished physical therapy and were looking to enjoy their lives in full once more.
Now, almost 30 amputee patients are granted a free getaway at Lowell’s camp each year.
17-year-old Samuella Sadler was one of the lucky attendees. Sadler had already been born with short limbs, but then also had to have her left leg amputated below the knee when she was just 18 months old. It wasn’t just that she lived in a place with no snow or skiing opportunities – it was that no one believed she could do it.
For Sadler, however, her physical body was never something that she considered a setback. “It’s all I’ve known,” she said, “but I always wondered if there was a way to do something athletic with kids who were going through the same thing as me.”
When she got to Lowell’s skiing camp, she was thrilled, but also nervous. “I was so nervous my first time on the bunny hill, but there was nothing like the feeling when I reached the bottom and could shout, ‘I did it!’” she recalled.
She hopes to make her fifth trip this year and hit the black diamond run, even if she falls all the way down the hill.
For Lowell, watching patients like Sadler come and conquer the slopes year after year and seeing his camp thrive, is an inspiration.
“I knew [these patients] were capable of much more than they gave themselves credit for,” Lowell said. “It was fun to see that awakening in them at the first camp, when they realized that anything really was possible.”
This ski camp has even caught the attention of local firefighters. Mitch King, a Salt Lake City firefighter and paramedic, volunteers at the camp each year to encourage the teens during their lessons. It’s the “highlight of [his] year.”
Over the years of his volunteering, King has seen the teens grow and blossom as people.
“A lot of life lessons are learned here — it’s not just about skiing,” he explains. “These kids build on each other, lean on each other. They’ll come in meek and quiet and scared as can be, but they’re immediately made to feel welcome by the rest of the group. If somebody falls or says, ‘I can’t do it,’ everybody jumps in to help. It’s such an emotional thing to witness. These kids have big hearts.”
The teens not only find strength and inspiration from themselves as they gain more confidence on the slopes, but they also find strength from the camaraderie of being with others who share their amputee experience.
Quadrilateral amputee Benny Storniolo said, “It’s a good feeling to be around other kids who know what I’m going through. I’m pretty athletic — I bike at home and I’m willing to try almost anything. But making friends with other kids like me is what I’m really looking forward to.”
