At Adaptive Action Sports at Copper Mountain, snowboarder Amy Purdy has been spending a lot of time on the hill getting ready for the Paralympic Games.
When she was 19, both of her legs had to be amputated below the knee after she contracted bacterial meningitis. She lost both her kidneys and her spleen and was given a 2 percent chance of survival.
Her dad gave her one of his kidneys and Purdy went on to snowboard again, earning bronze at the 2016 Paralympics.
As fast as she is on the snow, she’s even faster in life. She has a nonprofit and is also traveling as a motivational speaker, meeting with celebrities, working with Orpha, competing on Dancing with the Stars.
She even danced with a robot at the 2016 Paralympic opening ceremony.
“Dancing with a robot at the opening ceremonies, that’s one part of my life and the other part is trying to be the best athlete I can be,” Purdy said.
She does this while running Adaptive Action Sports, which helps people with disabilities enjoy outdoor activities.
“We have different levels of our program,” she said. “One is recreation, which is just introducing these sports to somebody who has a disability who thought maybe they couldn’t do it or maybe they couldn’t figure it out on their own.”
This program also helps athletes like Paralympic gold medalist Evan Strong get to the Games.
“We can shred on a snowboard as hard as anyone and now are focusing the whole four-year cycle just to peak on one day,”’ Strong said.
Amy’s focus right now is not only to bring back a second Paralympic medal, but to also show others how far a snowboard can take you.
“It’ great bringing a medal home, being able to share that with others and show them the path that’s even more fulfilling,” Purdy said.
You can watch Amy race at the games in South Korea on March 12.
