His bone-marrow transplant led to Graft Versus Host (GVH) condition, which has robbed his body of much natural fluid and tissue mass. He has had 36 operations, has lost his sight and can't hear out of one ear. The squamous cell cancer in his feet, hands, and one elbow and the amputation of two fingers have been no picnic, but at 43, Kent is smiling and looking forward.

        Part of that smile is triggered by re-entry into the world of sports.

        Today, a teacher in Pittsburgh, Kent has just returned from his second annual Ski for Light International week in Granby, Colo. The week, he says, “is like a family reunion” of 200-plus people that feeds his love of outdoor activity. He skied the 5K course in 58 minutes this year and is already planning to improve that time in 2003.

        While Kent's story is compelling, it is one of many claiming new life or rebirth at a Ski for Light week. There is the paralyzed athlete who thought sports were no longer possible; the blind person whose spouse departed right after the eyesight; the sedentary person with minimal sight and hearing who becomes an exercise fanatic. No one talks about those things during the event, which has evolved into a utopian environment where no one notices who has a disability and who has not, and where everyone skis and dances and swims and smiles constantly.

Dream of Norwegian
        Now 27 years old, Ski for Light was the dream of Erling Stordahl, a renowned Norwegian musician who was blind and who wanted blind people in the United States to ski as they do in Norway. Since 1975, the program has grown to include about 250 skiers each year.

        Blind skiers are paired one-on-one with ski guide/instructors who describe terrain and technique. Skiers, blind and sighted, come from throughout the United States, Norway, Japan, England, Canada and other countries, and many come back year after year.

        Although the program was initially designed to teach cross-country skiing to blind people, there is a strong contingent of mobility-impaired skiers today, some of whom have gone on to ski in the Paralympics and other world-class events.

        Ski for Light's introduction to sports and the outdoors has inspired wheelchair-users to climb mountains and blind skiers to ride in 500-mile tandem cycling marathons.

        Maybe what makes it work is that no one is paid to make Ski for Light happen. Volunteers who are blind, paraplegic and nondisabled, work together year-round to orchestrate each week-long event in a different venue. The week has been held in New Hampshire, South Dakota, Colorado and Wisconsin, and is planned next year for Anchorage, Alaska.

        Because the organization's mission is to stimulate a love of skiing and outdoor activities among blind and mobility-impaired people, financial assistance is given each year to first-time participants and guides. Beyond the fee paid by each participant, an additional $50,000 is needed to put on each event. Generous donations and sponsorships support each year's race, rally, and awards banquet, and help add a bit of ceremonial shine to a week that naturally sparkles.

Brother a guide
        Kent's enthusiasm was such that his younger brother, Keith (the same brother who provided that bone marrow in 1976), came along as a guide this year and became a member of the Ski for Light family. And that's typical of the infectious spirit of this extraordinary organization.

        Sometimes, stereotypes are so imbedded that even those affected fall prey.

        People with disabilities sometimes don't even expect themselves to enjoy sports or become athletes. When that happens so easily, everyone connected sort of falls in love.

        For more information, visit www.sfl.org.

        Contact Deborah Kendrick by phone: 673-4474; fax: 321-6430; e-mail: dkkendrick@earthlink.net.

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