Riley Poor

Riley Poor

United States of America
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Ski

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Portland, OR

On January 10th, 2009, our friend, son, bother, boyfriend, and Action Sports Industry Staple Riley Poor was involved in an accident in Vermont that resulted in a serious spinal cord injury. Halfway through the filming of Transitions, Riley’s world profoundly and irrevocably changed. While in Mount Snow, Vermont, for the Winter Dew Tour, Riley suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a swimming pool accident. The incident left him paralyzed in all of his extremities and his core, with some arm movement, but no hand function. Less than a month after the accident, Riley described his paralysis as “something I was meant to go through,” later sharing how he “always knew, always had this feeling that I’d have this amazing test in my life, that I would walk away from victorious.“ This intrepid attitude never faltered. Throughout his initial recovery, he continuously eschewed sorrow for gratitude—gratitude for his family, his friends, the opportunities afforded him following the injury, and the ski community, which he calls “a web that no one can fall through.”

“Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you.“

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High Fives has provided:

HOC wheelchair

Riley Poor

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