Q: Tell us about yourself.
Hi. My name is Suzanne Boots Knighton. Please call me Boots. 🙂 Yes, my middle name is actually Boots and I am named after the most amazing lady. I have been in the area since 1998. I am originally from North Carolina. I am a ski instructor at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and I am the learning specialist for the Teton Valley Campus of Mountain Academy. I also own my private tutoring business specializing in dyslexia.
Q: What brought you to Wright Training?
Word on the street was that Crystal was the best in the business for ski fitness. I was still trying to get my mojo back from a bad ski accident and knew she could help me and she did (along with all the other coaches)!
Q: How were you injured and how has that impacted your life?
I hit my head skiing while teaching at JHMR. It was a freak accident that has forever changed the course of my life. I had to relearn how to do everything (walk, take a glass out of the cabinet, put my clothes on in the proper order, ski, bike, dig a hole to plant a plant, cook… you get the idea.). I lost bladder and bowel control. My digestion basically quit. Migraines became a weekly occurrence. My eyesight was affected and still is. My mitochondria in my brain stopped making ATP. I lost all of my muscle mass. I also lost the will to live.
Thanks to a lot of great friends, Brene Brown’s many self help books, Kevin Pierce’s story, and a lot of Lindsay Vonn inspiration, I figured the best way to move forward was to get as strong as I have ever been in my life and make my life better than before. I truly feel like I have been given a second chance.
Q: During your rehabilitation training, what is your focus?
At first, my focus was on not wetting my pants. Seriously! But now…my focus is gaining more muscle and confidence and relearning how to move my body in space. My right side is definitely not the same as my left side. Single leg work has been my hardest task but we are getting there. The first time Brian and Crystal had me do the Turkish get ups was crazy! The entire right side of my face went numb. I still have issues like that when I do single leg work but I know it will pass. At first it was scary because I felt like I was having a stroke.
Q: How has training at Wright Training impacted your recovery?
I never thought my life could be so amazing and a lot of it has to do with Crystal and Jeff who helped me achieve my ultimate goal: passing the Level 3 ski exam for PSIA. I thought my dream was going to remain just a dream after I hit my head. They both were so patient with me on my tough, symptomatic days. Crystal met with me the day before my exam and proved to me via exercises that I was strong enough and ready enough to pass. Not only did I pass, I scored the next score up on a lot of the tasks. I fully surpassed all expectations. Crystal and Jeff and the rest of the trainers are now officially stuck with me for the rest of my ski career.
Q: What advice would you offer to injured individuals trying to get back on their game?
Ask yourself… what is the injury/experience trying to teach me? How can I come back better than before. Why not see how far I can go now that I have a chance to dig in and grow from this experience?
Q: Anything else you’d like to share? Shoutouts?
THANK GOODNESS for Crystal’s vision for her gym and for all the coaches and the fun people who I get to work out with….. Damn, I’m lucky. We are all lucky.
