Paralympic Dreams

Six months after losing my leg in a motorcycle accident, I was back on the snow. I may be from Alabama, but snow is no stranger to me. My Dad first took me skiing when I was 7 as part of my girl scouts program, and I was hooked! After I lost my leg I thought that I wouldn’t e able to do anything, but my Dad found about the National Ability Center at Park in Park City, Utah.  The NAC teaches people with disabilities how to ski and snowboard. Of course, I tried skiing, and honestly, it was terrifying! I switched to snowboarding, and it was exhilarating! For the first time since my accident, I could do something just as well as other people. Regardless, I never imagined that I would be asked to join Team Utah Adaptive Snowboarding a year later.

This last January, I moved to Utah to train full time with the team. Being only one of two girls on the team, I spent most of my time trying to keep up with the boys. By the end of the season, I would say that I had gotten pretty good at it. In April, I competed in the Canadian ParaSnowboard World Cup. It was easily the most challenging and technical boarder-cross course I’ve ever been on. To top it all off, I was sick as a dog and could barely keep my food down long enough to run the course. I still managed to come in third though, which put my world ranking for this season at fourth place.

Making the podium at the World Cups is amazing, and I’m extremely proud of my accomplishments, but I’ve had my eyes set on even greater things ever since the International Paralympic Committee announced the inclusion of ParaSnowboarding in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

I would have never made it this far without support from family, friends, and people I’ve met along the way. Once again, I need everyone’s help to make my dreams come true. My journey to the 2014 Winter Games won’t be an easy or cheap one, and I will need all of the help and support that I can
get.

I have several goals to meet in preparation for the coming season.
A New prosthetic knee and liners: $7,500
Training Expenses: $5,000
Competition Travel and Expenses: $10,500

Please share this with your family, friends, coworkers, organizations, and companies that might be interested in sponsoring a paralympic athlete.

Thank You,

Megan Harmon 

Crowdfunding