All posts by Russ

Last day.

Events

We leave today. 


They’ll all ski this am then Stu takes us to Boston at 1 ish. 
All sad to be leaving, especially  me. 

We stay in an airport  hotel tonight, to be up at 5am tomorrow. Then, hopefully, an ‘uneventful’ flight home, if you know what I mean. 

This has been the most ‘successful’ big Dawkins family holiday ever. 

We all wanted, indeed needed, this to work, and thanks to everyone’s patience, flexibility, and generosity… it did.

🙂
X

Thank you.

Events

Well despite the medical team’s misgivings ( not to mention my own ), I’ve tried and I’d say succeeded at sit ski. 

So I’m not an expert yet, but the thing is that I know now that I will be in due course. 
That’s not arrogance (before someone says it) but it is confidence, and it’s the first glimmer of confidence I’ve had about my future since I woke up enough from my coma to realise what a mess I was in. 
I can’t thank, firstly Alwyn, enough, for believing in me and making it actually all happen, and secondly, in no particular order ( because there are so many ), Pam ( Alwyn’s good friend here, who runs the kids ‘hopefuls’ ski race school ) for suggesting Vermont Adaptive ski school, Dani for always pushing me, my family for their limitless support , my instructors Aaron and Loranlyn for being so bloody nice to me ( and doing it in their free time as volunteers !) and my countless friends for telling me again and again that they knew I’d crack it. 
Without all of those, I’d not even have left the appartment, and not tried it, and gone home never knowing how a few hours can change a man’s whole perspective on the world. 
Last night back here at the appartment I felt I was able to be the real me, in the things I said, joking about stuff like I used to be, and I thought I’d never be again. 
Alwyn didn’t notice, but on the chair lift yesterday I couldn’t hold back the tears of joy that steamed up my goggles, being finally ABLE to do something. 
The boundaries now seem a lot further away, and I know my life will get progressively better. 
Thank you all so much for helping. 
Russ

Awwwhhh, what can I say? !

Events

Russ,
Another fantastic day.
Remarkable progress from yesterday. Much faster, great turns, no falls.
I’ve been teaching skiing for years, I haven’t seen anyone improve so quickly. Yesterday you were moving at the same speed or slower than the average skier. Today you overtook nearly everyone and it was as much as I could do to keep up or get ahead to video you.
At this rate there is no doubt you’ll be skiing independently. Once you regain the strength and control in your right side, you’ll be lifting yourself onto the chairlifts and setting the pace, as you used too!
So proud of you Russ, it really is a humbling experience to see how quickly you are adapting to your new circumstances. The instructor team today were so impressed, you could see they were having as much fun as you and I.
Well done bro, this whole trip couldn’t have gone any better.
Love,
Alwyn