Did I mention that I’m in Colorado this week for a little snow and family time? As you are reading this I hope to be swishing down a mountain somewhere with a big smile on my face.
Our trip made me think about something I saw a few years back that fascinated me, a blind skier. I know it sounds like a bad joke but truly it is the most remarkable and amazing gift to someone who has lost their sight, the ability to do something challenging that they once did when they had the gift of vision.
Skiing gives you a sense of freedom and accomplishment, a feeling that is often missing when you lose your sight. Mark Davis had this experience when he lost his vision in his forties due to a rare symptom of Multiple Sclerosis.
He was successful financial professional and a life long skier when his life took an unexpected turn with his illness. Determined to overcome the grief and depression that followed his loss of sight Mark was motivated to not let his handicap keep him from the slopes.
Instead, he approached the Colorado Ski School for the Blind and Mark was back on the mountain with renewed passion for skiing. That experience inspired Mark to replicate it for others and as a result he created Foresight Ski Guides.Org, in 2001.
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Since then, thousands of visually impaired have been able to experience the thrill and excitement of skiing blind. It is amazing how clearly Mark Davis’s vision has impacted so many. This season I won’t be the only skier with a big smile on my face swishing down the mountain.
Charity Matters.
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