Dear family and friends
We had a great day today! This morning Grayson worked with one of the regular Mammoth Mountain ski instructors and was paired with the 19 year-old son of Grayson's very first instructor at Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra (DSES). This afternoon, Grayson worked with the father of the head instructor at DSES who also volunteers time here on the mountain. We met him and his lovely wife earlier in the week here at DSES while skiing with his son – an amazing teacher who has an incredible ability to reach people like Grayson with cognitive impairments. DSES is a small family where there are never more than a few degrees of separation!
Last year we were primarily working on Sesame Street, or Chair 11. Most people refer to this as the "Bunny Slope" – beginner territory. This year, especially this week, Grayson spends most of his time on more challenging terrain – St Moritz, Mambo, Broadway, St Anton – quite a change since January 2011. It does highlight that gains can still be made even if a full recovery is not possible.
The beauty for me of watching Grayson ski is watching him work to connect to past experience and put it to work for fun. I observe him get stuck, get frustrated, get tired, and just lay down in the snow. I also see him successfully connect a series of turns (with coaching) on intermediate terrain for 5 minutes or more while remaining in control. And occasionally he pulls something out of his experience from deep inside and surprises all of us. Today he needed to make an immediate left turn and instead of doing the beginner wedge turn he flipped around like a pro. The knowledge is in there – tapping into that vast locker is the challenge.
As a parent of a cognitively challenged adult child, it is a thrill when a pathway to one of these past experiences is connected to "now" and is executed. Those moments are rare indeed, but they sure feel good. Very good.
Pax!
Brant
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