Off the sidelines, on the slopes

[Star Tribune, January 14, 2014] The Courage Kenny Ski and Snowboard Program gives people with disabilities the chance to enjoy winter sports. Six years ago, Mat Rhode was a student at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., when a car accident left him with a severe head injury. After six weeks in a coma, he awoke to a life upended by memory loss and weakened muscles and facing years of physical therapy. On a recent weekend, Rhode, 28, of Edina began his sixth year of training at Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area in Bloomington. Rhode is a downhill racer in the winter sports program run by the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, part of Allina Health. Recently the program also began its yearly lessons for adaptive skiing and snowboarding at ski hills in the Twin Cities metro area and in Duluth.