Alana Nichols and Roy Tuscany Appear August 11
Alana Nichols broke her back in a skiing accident when she was 17. She was told, predictably, that she would never walk again and, of course, would never ski.
Roy Tuscany was a freestyle skier who loved and lived to slide on snow and fly through the air. He broke his back on a 130 foot jump at Mammoth. Following actuarial statistics, medical prognoses and common sense, neither of them should be where they are today, doing what they do today, reveling in the thrill of racing down ski slopes, paddling big surf and rocketing down dirt trails on an electric mountain bike.
Alana, who had given up on sports, even though she identified herself as an athlete, stumbled into a wheelchair basketball game, was stunned by the athleticism she saw on the gymnasium floor, soon found herself in a basketball wheelchair and then on a team and, not too much farther down that road, wound up back on skis and on a sit-on wave ski. She is now a five-time Paralympian, a six-time medalist and the first American woman to win gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.
Roy, meanwhile, started the High Fives Foundation to build a community of support around others with spinal cord injuries, after experiencing the transformative power he received from a similar community outreach.
Roy and Alana subsequently found each other, joined forces and lives and have become one of the more compelling motivational speaking partnerships in the country.
Both partners testify to the limitless possibilities that exist for disabled people to participate fully in life, in sports, and to enjoy the outdoors as vigorously and enjoyably as able-bodied people do. Their message also recognizes that not all disabilities are physical, that mental and emotional disabilities can be equally challenging. Alana and Roy will share their message, their methods and their support for disabled communities at the next Sonoma Speaker Series event, Monday, August 11, at the Hanna Center.
The conversation starts at 7 p.m., with a VIP reception at 5:45. Tickets are available online at sonomaspeakerseries.com.
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