Life can change in a second, just like it did for Emily Traveller when the ATV she was in rolled on the sand dunes, causing her to suffer a spinal cord injury.
But, you can't keep Emily down. In fact, she's climbing — and you can help her with her dream!
Her goal is to climb Mount Timpanogos, which won't be easy considering she doesn't have total use of her hands or legs.
She had extensive therapy in Utah and Colorado, and then the reality of it all set in.
"Just figuring out a whole new life that I haven't experienced before," Emily said.
She won't be alone on her hike — she will have a lot of support and love.
"Some people from Neuroworx, some family, some friends, we have quite a group going up," Emily said. "Just because you are different now physically, things are different, there are so many opportunities to do other things."
Emily will also have the help of an adaptive bike, on top of the support and love.
The lesson here?
"That you can persevere through trials and actually thrive. This has been incredibly hard for our family, but beautiful at the same time," Emily' mom, Kari Traveller, said.
Kari's life has changed as well with her daughter being in a wheelchair.
"I would never take back the perspective we've gained," Kari said. "It's actually been a blessing to see people who I've never seen before."
Not everyone with a spinal cord injury can climb a mountain, but they can reach for their dreams too.
Dr. Dale Hull, the founder of Neruoworx, said, "With neurological injuries, no two are the same. No two recoveries are alike, so everyone is on their own journey of recovery. . . . Paralysisis probably the hardest thing I've ever come across personally in my life, and I've been paralyzed for 25 years."
KUTV and Mountain America Credit Union wanted to help Emily get her bike, so Steve Wright from MACU visited and gave her $500.
"It's something I've always wanted to do, I never really liked hiking before, but I always wanted to hike Timp," Emily said.
If you want to help Emily on her climb, and that expensive adaptive bike, visit her GoFundMe page.
Mountain America Credit Union donated $500 to Emily Traveller so she can continue to pay it forward. You can find ways to donate to Pay it Forward on MACU's website.
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