David Wiener remembers brief moments of the ambulance ride following his skiing accident in Vermont on January 2, 2016.

The driver asked a paramedic if Mr Wiener was still awake. The paramedic had said, "Yes," which is when the driver "put his foot down," to pick up speed, Mr Wiener said.

The accident, which he described in a journal, David's Journey, begins, "My dear friends," after 50 years of downhill skiing and 25 years of raising his children to ski and snowboard, "I lost control on some black ice and hit a tree at full speed. I don't remember the actual impact, just hitting the ice before and then laying on the slope…" He had a compound fracture of the right leg and a spinal cord injury.

On March 9 of this year, which found him seated in a wheelchair in his home office, Mr Wiener said he had been skiing Black-Diamond trails for years, but January 2 was "a perfect storm. I hit ice on the edge of the trail, someone cut in front of me, then I was on the ground. I remember being put on a board and riding in the ambulance." He has no recollection of "the power of the impact, it happened so fast," he said. "But, I don't dwell on it."

According to his journal, "What followed has been an amazing journey through medical treatment, rehabilitation therapy and the support of an incredible family and community," he wrote.

Mr Wiener spent the next two weeks in University of Vermont Medical Center's intensive care unit. From there he went to New Jersey.

"The next step for me was inpatient rehabilitation at the Kessler Institute in New Jersey."

His shattered leg, however, was a problem. "After two weeks at Kessler, one month after the accident, it became apparent that the wound on my leg from the compound fracture would not heal… We decided to amputate above the knee. It made sense to me to get back to a firm and stable point in my body that I will be able to lean on for years to come. After the surgery all of my doctors and therapists at Kessler remarked how much better I looked."

He wrote: "I know it sounds crazy but without that leg dragging me down I was much more clear-headed and energetic."

He chronicled his journey's next steps.

"On March 22 I went home and started to learn how to live in the real world," he wrote. "Getting in and out of cars, preparing food, showering and otherwise taking care of myself."

Although he did well at Kessler, he stated, "That was a controlled environment with wide doorways and workout tables at wheelchair level. None of that happens in the real world." Fortunately, his bedroom, the family room, kitchen, and office "are all on the main floor of our house so we did not need to make major renovations."

Healing, Looking Ahead

Earlier in March of this year as he easily wheeled through his house, he spoke more about his time at Kessler. "They get you mobile again and ambulatory." He had learned to move in and out of his wheelchair, get dressed, "the basics," he said. He had been feeling confident, "until I tried getting into a car or realized the parking lot was pitched, and almost rolled downhill."

The Newtown Bee learned about Mr Wiener when an e-mail arrived from High Fives Foundation, from which he received a $3,300 empowerment grant to support therapy sessions at Project Walk in Stratham, N.H., specializing in spinal cord injuries and neurological deficiencies.

High Fives is a Tahoe, Calif.-based, national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The High Fives Foundation supports the dreams of mountain action sports athletes by raising injury prevention awareness while providing resources and inspiration to those who suffer life-altering injuries.

Formed as a way to "pay-it-forward" by the founder from his own recovery to help injured athletes, the foundation has helped 146 athletes to date since its inception in 2009. For more information visit highfivesfoundation.org.

Mr Wiener's connections to Project Walk "was a fluke," he said. "My in-laws are in New Hampshire; my sister-in-law was watching the news," and had seen a segment about it.

He learned about High Fives through Project Walk. Learn more about the paralysis recovery center at projectwalk.com. According to the site, "Project Walk is the pioneer in activity-based recovery and has been treating people living with paralysis for nearly two decades.

"Project Walk diverges from traditional methods," and offers an alternative treatment for paralysis recovery. Its programs are based on the idea that brain signals "do wake their way down" to the paralyzed limbs, he said. "They believe they can retrain the brain and spinal chord to send signals down." He travels to New Hampshire twice monthly for therapy.

He said the mission is to "get people who were into outdoor sports back into outdoor sports." Mr Wiener said, "I told them I wanted to ski with my kids and grandkids, bottom line." Considering his injury, he said it can "define you, destroy you, or make you stronger - you choose strength."

Maneuvering through his home office just past noon on March 9, greeting his two dogs, Mr Wiener pointed to stacks of folders and cases containing work waiting for his attention in the real estate development field.

Wheeling across the room, he noted his chair's different features, and the fact that it can fold quickly and fit in a car. His chair is just one of the many adjustments to his everyday life since the accident, but Mr Wiener does not intend to stay put. "I truly believe I'll walk again, and get out of this chair," he said. Already, he has gotten back to skiing. He went back to Vermont with his family in January and used a mono-ski, which "cuts and edges - a lot like skiing." He said, "It was great to get back out again, and the kids had fun."

David's Journey

Shortly after his accident when he was in the University of Vermont Medical Center, Mr Wiener wrote: "During this time word of my accident spread like wildfire in our community. Our friends and neighbors brought bags of groceries and cooked meals such as Chicken Parmesan, meatloaf and that staple of the millennial generation; macaroni and cheese to our house.

"Some sent prepaid gas cards and gift cards for [his wife] Lynn to use as she drove back and forth between the hospital in Vermont and our home in Connecticut. Everybody offered to help any way they could.

"I was never alone. Whenever Lynn went back home" his mother, brother, sister or in-laws

"would come stay with me. It also turned out my synagogue in Newtown had a connection with the synagogue in Burlington VT and so their rabbi visited me a couple of times."

He said, "I had a constant flow of friends and family which really helped me along."

He continued to receive strong community support as he learned to adjust to being home. He wrote, "Once I got home our friends shifted into high gear. Our synagogue organized a roster for people to provide us with dinners three nights a week for three months." The meals were "a real life saver," he said. He and Lynn had needed "to figure out and adjust to an evening routine of showering, changing bandages, laundry, cleaning up around the house and preparing for the next day. Sort of like having young kids again. Things we took for granted at Kessler where there were aides and service staff who kept everything going. Newtown is a beautiful place filled with wonderful people."

Among those people is Alex Kimball, "the amazing Boy Scout" who chose an Eagle Scout project of constructing a permanent wheelchair ramp at the Wiener's home.

According to his journal, "My challenges now are to continue building my strength and to learn how to manage my ever-changing body going forward." He also would like a standing frame device, which would alleviate him from sitting all day; however, the device is not covered through insurance. Mr Wiener has finished driving lessons and has been certified by the state to use a vehicle with hand controls. He is currently researching the purchase of an adapted van "so I can get back into a full-time work situation," he said in his journal.

Learn more about Mr Wiener's journey through his Facebook page, and see his fundraising page at gofundme.com/send-david-back-to-work-2vjnnj8.