Lemonade from lemons

Bio:

Mackinzie Dickman is an adaptive athlete from Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia. She survived a traumatic car accident in 2017, leaving her with a rare spinal cord injury called syringomyelia from T5 – T12 and a traumatic brain injury. By 2019, she became a full-time wheelchair user due to partial paralysis. She is an adaptive mountain biker and adaptive wakeboarder, but her heart belongs to the snow as a sit skier. She learned to sit ski with Challenged Athletes of West Virginia and now trains with the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park, Colorado as a professional para ski racer. Mackinzie’s goal is to help make others more comfortable and aware of the disabled community, educate on the importance of disability rights, and show that anybody can be an athlete. 

Testimonial Quote:

“I have learned that the human spirit is truly as adaptable as the human body. I think my stubbornness to not lose all my abilities all while knowing my body is changing is why I have made it to where I am today. Although when going through these changes, give yourself grace but never give up hope.”

Skiing Quote:

“Every carved line you see coming down the mountain is a moment in time for me. A moment where the world stops turning, but in a good way. It’s my moment to take life back, nothing else around me matters.”

EMBODYING THE SAAC MISSION:

“Kinzie” embodies everything for which we built SAAC. Her resilient, passionate, never-back-down attitude is exactly what we want to inspire in others. With people like Kinzie, you can recognize that a diagnosis is never the end of your story. In fact, it’s usually just the beginning.