DENVER — When longtime Steamboat Springs ski patroller Cody St. John died after a car crash in 2007, his bright life was cut short.
In death, St. John helped give others a second chance at life through organ donation. Now, his friends are keeping his memory alive while continuing to help others on their own career paths.
Over at AdventHealth Porter, the operating room has become a second home for transplant surgeon Dr. Hunter Moore.
“It’s a really powerful thing," Moore said. "And the sad thing is there’s people on the wait list that are dying all the time. Organ donation is critical to really help a large portion of the population.”
Moore's path to becoming a transplant surgeon was set in motion more than 15 years ago, when he worked as a ski patroller with St. John.
"Cody was a really special person. He's one of those people that you meet every once in your life that you're like, 'I wish I could be you.' Just good at everything he did. He was a really smart guy, really funny guy, in amazing shape, just a superhuman," Moore said.
"He had everyone's respect," said Kyle Lawton, a friend and fellow ski patroller with St. John. "He knew his limitations but he also was super humble and incredibly driven to do the best he could, and it showed."
Lawton remembers St. John as a good person and a great ski patroller, ready to start a new career.
"When he had his accident when he was going up to Laramie to start his nursing classes, it caught us all off guard," Lawton said.
St. John was in a crash with a logging truck along Highway 127 in Colorado. He was on his way to the University of Wyoming, where he'd been accepted to the nursing program.
On Easter Sunday 2007, he died.
"He was just going to be a superstar. And it was really sad that he didn't get to do what he was going to do for society. But he was going to be something really special," Moore said.
St. John's organs were donated. His death gave others a chance at life -- and shifted Moore's career path.
"Going through that process of seeing some tragedy turn into something that really changed people's lives was a big motivator for me to say, hey, this was an eye-opening experience, that transplants are a really powerful thing," Moore said.
Years later, that path was cemented after a chance encounter with a patient.
"Well, it was really kind of serendipitous," Moore said. "He had a heart transplant. And I was like, 'Oh how long have you had a heart transplant for?' He's like 'Oh, it's been right about five years.' And I was like, 'What time of the year?' And everything kind of worked out. And I was like, 'Do you by chance know who your donor was?' And he's like 'yeah.' And it was Cody."
"It was almost like I was talking to my friend again in a crazy, weird way," Moore said. "It was pretty wild."
Over the years, friends and family have kept St. John's memory alive. Every year around Easter, they hold a ski race in Steamboat Springs called Cody's Challenge, raising money to help other ski patrollers advance their medical training.
"A lot of these younger motivated individuals are seeing they want to go on to paramedic school or RN programs, PA or docs," Lawton said.
"It's nice to have something that's positive around the time of his death," Moore said.
St. John's memory helps to guide future medical professionals forward, just as it did for Moore.
"I just feel like I kind of have Cody on my shoulder every day I'm at work," Moore said. "It's a really powerful thing."
Over the years, the money raised during Cody's Challenge has helped dozens of ski patrollers with their medical schooling. It's also provided thousands of dollars to ski patrol teams, covering additional equipment like first aid supplies and avalanche beacons.
The 16th annual Cody's Challenge will be held this Saturday in Steamboat Springs.
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