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"a mountain biking injury left him paralyzed in 1995"
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/138472
Ferguson breaks leg, but hopes to compete again in February by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Competitive adaptive skier Sam Ferguson of Aspen suffered a broken leg last week and will miss this year’s X Games. Ferguson, who is paralyzed from the waist down and rides a monoski or sit ski, broke his femur in half near the kneecap on Dec. 20. At the time, he was getting ready to go skiing and was transferring himself from the tailgate of his truck into the chair of his sit ski. The sit ski slipped on the ice, causing Ferguson to fall on his leg. While Ferguson’s broken leg would be a season ending injury for an able-bodied skier, Ferguson hopes to be back on his monoski by mid- January and competing again by early February. His rehab will focus on bringing down the swelling, restoring movement and rebuilding bone and muscle strength. As he has no feeling in his legs, Ferguson did not feel the pain of the femur fracture, although he said he became light-headed after the accident happened. He noticed something was wrong when he got to the top of the gondola on Aspen Mountain and his leg was swollen. He then saw his knee drop down when he lifted his leg up. Ferguson downloaded and sought medical attention. Doctors have inserted a surgical rod into his leg. ADN file photo Aspen’s Sam Ferguson competing in the 2009 X Games. Ferguson broke his leg and will have to miss this year’s X Games. A monoski is a bucket seat on a metal chassis with shocks mounted on a single alpine ski with hand outriggers for balance. Ferguson, who trains with the Challenge Aspen team, has become accomplished in the sport since a mountain biking injury left him paralyzed in 1995. He claimed an X Games silver medal last year in monoskiercross, where multiple riders race down a course of tabletop jumps, banked turns, rollers and gaps. He is also amassing World Cup points in monoski alpine downhill and super G racing. Ferguson was slated to be at least an alternate on the U.S. Paralympic Team, which will compete at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Games this March. Ferguson could still be invited, depending on how he does in the few events he hopes to be available for between now and the games. Ferguson said he hopes to make his return to competition at the Canadian Nationals, which begin on Feb. 9. The X Games will be held at Buttermilk Mountain on Jan. 28-31, which is not enough recovery time for Ferguson’s leg to withstand the force of landing the jumps on the monoskiercross course, he said. He will attend the X Games to encourage his fellow athletes, he said. Ferguson is 20 points away from qualifying for World Cup downhill monoski racing. He hopes to be competing in the World Cup monoski races that will be held on the Tiehack side of Buttermilk in late March. Ferguson gives much credit for his accomplishment to the staff and coaches of Challenge Aspen, who taught him how to monoski after he became a paraplegic. “That was the one thing to put my passion back into and apply that confidence back to the rest of my daily life,” he said. Ferguson now skis most every day in the winter. |
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