Michele and a friend were snowmobiling in the Bucks Lake Wilderness on the day when her life changed forever. Traveling fast on the back of the snowmobile, Michele and her friend hit a bump and she went flying over the handlebars, crashing into a tree. While unconscious, Michele was driven by snowmobile to Buck Summit and then airlifted to Enloe Hospital in Chico where she was told that she had fractured her C2 and C4-C5 vertebrae, causing paralysis from the shoulders down.

Michele’s goal is to increase independence to whatever capacity possible. She started skiing at the age of four, and learned to telemark ski while teaching her daughter how to ski. Michele is a big winter sports enthusiast and would love to participate in snow activities for adaptive sports.