March 24. 2012- Where my life would be changed drastically. My friends and I wanted to ski the backcountry in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, so we rode the tram up at JHMR, and then hiked further uphill to where the start of the places we wanted to ski were. One of my friends went first, and he waved to let me know it was safe to ski, and I went second. I took a few turns, and then my ski must have fallen off, because I slid down on snow for nearly 800 feet, stopping by crashing my head on a rock. The one friend that was below me hiked up, and the other two skied carefully down. I was unconscious, but still breathing. My friends waited for the ski patrol to arrive (since we were in the backcountry, it took around two hours), and they took me down to where the helicopter could pick me up. Then, I was transferred to another helicopter, which took me to the hospital in Idaho Falls where I would stay for the next three weeks.

Recovering from the injuries is hard in itself, but I have to realize that my life will never be the same as it used to be. This injury makes me realize how great my life used to be, and while the same things can’t make me happy anymore (like traveling the world to ski, for one), I need to find new things that make me happy.

While I never wish an injury like this to happen to anyone else, it’s made me take a step back and realize the small things. This injury was really severe, but it’s made me back up and look at things from a new perspective. And I wouldn’t have stepped back if this injury hadn’t happened to me.

In 2006, everything changed. It all changed for the positive but I never thought this 180-Safety grab would be the last time I ever hit a jump and land successful on my skis. The morning after this shot, I over shot a step-up jump at Mammoth Mountain, going 130ft on 100ft jump. The resultant impact burst-fractured my T12 vertebrae into my spine, causing incomplete paralysis of my lower extremities.

This accident fueled the start of High Fives Foundation. I encourage everyone to check out the Foundation and the program services we offer: www.highfivesfoundation.org

If you haven’t heard of Joe Pleban by now, prepare to be inspired. Not many people are like Joe: Adventurous, incredibly friendly, and open to accepting adversity and physical health issues with humor, no matter how scary. Even if that means literally having to cut off a left foot! I first heard of Joe’s story through Facebook, where his “The Last Adventures of Joe’s Left Foot” was becoming a viral hit. The page highlights a bucket list of what Joe was planning to do with his left foot prior to a scheduled amputation, which would allow Joe to continue his active lifestyle and love of sports without the incredible nagging pain from a prior injury.

As soon as I learned about Joe’s incredible outlook on life, using humor & humility to overcome an injury that would certainly be life-altering, I reached out asking if he would be willing to do an interview for Spread Stoke. Needless to say, Joe was pretty stoked on the site and was happy to share his story …

SS: When I came across your story, I was truly inspired and we would love to share it with our Spread Stoke community. First off, tell us a little about yourself? Where did you grow up and how did you fall in love with action sports?

Joe: I was born in San Francisco and lived there for a couple years before moving to Maryland.  I lived on a cul-de-sac growing up with a couple other kids.  I got my love for action sports because of the show Rocket Power.  I would watch it with other kids, then we would go on the street and try to jump off any ramps we could make/find.  I went through so many of those plastic ramps as a kid.  As I grew up, I would try any action sport that was put in front of me at least once.

SS: Can you tell us how it all started with your foot? What was it like dealing with a foot that didn’t cooperate with your life?

Joe: This whole process started when I had a bad wake boarding fall in 2008.  It was actually the day after my high school graduation! I hit a double up waaayyy too hard, and I ended up snapping my ankle!  The ankle never healed right, and they went into surgery to try to clean out scar tissue.  That is when they found the disease PVNS (pigmented villanodular synovitis), which causes benign tumors that eat away at the cartilage.  I had 3 surgeries in 3 years, along with a round of radiation treatment. This past March, we found that the tumors had returned, and that information helped me to make the decision to amputate.  Growing up with a crappy ankle was not fun.  The past 6 years were the worst.  I would watch the sports I loved being taken away one by one because of ankle pain.  However, I cannot WAIT to get back into all the sports that I love.

SS: When you made the decision to amputate your left foot, what kind of emotions did you face?

Joe: When I made the decision to amputate, there were a bunch of emotions going on.  At first, I was a bit freaked out because of the weight and life-altering nature of the surgery.  After that, I got to the point where I was just excited for the future.  I wanted to get past the surgery so I could get back to playing sports.  I would watch videos of amputees doing all the sports I used to play, and that would make me feel awesome about what was coming.  Right before the surgery, I was very nervous.  However, I felt fine after I woke up. Since then I have been doing great emotionally.

SS: Alright, we want to hear about your bucket list and what was checked off! How long before your amputation did you take time off to go adventure? Any specific experiences you would like to share?

Joe: Ah yes, the bucket list.  Well I had a month before the surgery.  I made the decision to amputate in May, but the surgery was not until June.  So my girlfriend (Johnna Hetrick) and I made a Google doc with all the things we wanted to do before the surgery.  We went kayaking, go-karting, sky diving, a music festival, a trip to the Domincan Republic where we went scuba diving and parasailing, paintballing, shooting AK-47s… it was a very packed month!  Every weekend had an activity planned.  I only took off of work for the Dominican trip and the music festival.  The rest of the activities were on weekends.  Sky diving was the most fun by far.  It was actually a birthday git to my girlfriend.  I surprised her by saying we were going to a vineyard for wine tasting, then ended up at an airport to jump out of a plane.

SS: Can you tell us who Tony Meehan is and how has he helped you with coping?

Joe: Tony Meehan is my mentor for the amputation.  He is a below the knee amputee who had his surgery done last June.  He is young and active, and has been instrumental to showing me that everything will be better with a prosthetic. I met with him before I made the decision, and he was even there right before I went into surgery.  Tony and I have already made plans to go snowboarding together next March!

SS: Post surgery? What was it like waking up with no leg?

Joe: Waking up with no leg was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  I woke up, looked down, and thought “OK. I have no leg. This is OK.”

SS: What are you looking forward to in having a new prosthetic foot? Any new sports you want to give a try?

Joe: The thing I look forward to with a prosthetic? Running, running, running, running, aaannndd…. running.  I cannot wait to break out in a wide open sprint whenever I want to.  It may sound weird, but I love to sprint.  As far as new sports, I would like to get into wake surfing.  I  tried it a couple times on friend’s boats and loved it.  I am saving up for a wakesurfer now!

SS: After reading your story, I felt a strong sense of your humility. What does humility mean to you and why do you think it is so important to have in life?

Joe: The best thing I have ever heard about humility is “Humility is not about putting yourself down, it is about raising others up.”  I know that I have been strong through this entire process, but it is because I have so much support from my girlfriend, family, and friends.  It is easy to seem strong when you have so many to help lift the burden.

SS: We couldn’t agree more! Speaking of those who have helped support your mission, are there any shout outs you’d like to give? Who has helped you through this process and inspired you to keep such a positive attitude.

Joe: Shout outs: My girlfriend, Johnna Hetrick, for sticking with me through this whole process. She even slept in a weird, uncomfy recliner in my hospital room every night!  My parents, Bob and Lisa Pleban, for being so helpful and supportive.  They are the best parents. Sorry every other mom and dad, it is the truth.

So now that Joe is taking a step forward towards a pain-free future, we wish him nothing but an awesome and easy road to recovery! Sometimes, the hardest things to do often lead us towards the best and most rewarding experiences in life. Joe has shown us that closing one door only opens up better ones and that when dealing with a bad situation,  a positive outlook and lots humor goes a long way! We’re positive that Joe’s upcoming adventures will be even more amazing without the nagging pain of his left foot. A huge shout-out to Joe for taking time out of his week to speak with me and for sharing his story. Thanks Joe!  Hope to see you & your mentor Tony on the hills in Utah shredding through some pow this winter!

*All photo’s courtesy of Joe Pleban. 

Back in 2008, I had the scariest ski crash of my life. I wrote down my thoughts back then, just a few days after that accident. I recently dug them up to share here:

Last Wednesday was just another epic April powder day at the Snowbird, until I crushed a tree at 30+mph. Before that moment I was stoked because it had been dumping, and over the last four days I had skied some lines that I’ve been looking at the entire year. I had also just quit my job earlier that week and had bought a spring Bird pass to put to use my new-found abundance of free time.

This shot was from earlier in the season, on a typical bluebird pow day at the Bird.

On the last run of my season, I got off the tram with my friends Stephen and Tom. We headed out on the Cirque Traverse to pick our way down a line in the Gad Chutes in the Shot 7 area. The line we chose was steep and exposed, with a small mandatory air at the bottom. I let Stephen and Tom go ahead of me and hung back to make sure they made it down okay. After they were clear, I skied the chute and landed the air with quite a bit of speed.

I started making some big turns through some chopped pow below the chute. There was a group of smaller trees to my left with some untouched powder that needed to be slashed, and I decided to make a turn at high speed right next to those trees. Halfway through a big, sweeping right turn, I caught something under the snow with my tips and instantly shot into the air. My legs were out to my left, and my body was pretty much horizontal at this point. Much to my dismay, there was a lone pine tree in my flight path, and I could do nothing about it. I took the trunk of the tree squarely to the chest, and since I was horizontal, the impact was distributed across my entire sternum. I instantly lost both gloves, poles, goggles, and one ski. Patrol later told me one of my poles was stuck about 15 feet up in the next tree.

The impact was huge and I instantly felt the worst pain of my life. It felt like there was a dump truck full of lead pipes parked on my chest. I couldn’t catch my breath and I was making some horrible noises. I was conscious for about 10 seconds, crawling on my hands and knees, and all I remember was thinking how I sounded like the grape lady that fell off the stage in the infamous youtube video. Then it all went black.

I had a very long, strange dream, and I remember feeling warm and thinking I was in my bed at home. Then I woke up. I was face down in the snow, bleeding, ears ringing, and my arms were jammed into the snow without my gloves. Needless to say, I was freezing and in tons of pain. It was dumping huge flakes at this point, and I was pretty well covered by the falling snow. I stood up slowly, thinking how strange it was that my body just decided to wake itself up. My phone was in my chest pocket at the time of the crash, but the impact had separated the battery from the case. I put the battery back in, and miraculously the phone came to life. I called Tom, but I couldn’t really breathe at this point, and talking was even more of a chore. Tom heard some gasping and figured it out, then he dialed patrol. Tom and Stephen had been skiing just to my right and ahead of me when I hit the tree, but they didn’t see any of it. They had already been on the tram deck for a few minutes waiting for me when I called. That means I was probably unconscious anywhere from 5-7 minutes; we’re not really sure.

Snowbird ski patrol called my phone a few seconds later, and they kept me on the line so I could guide other patrollers to my location. They found me in less than 2 minutes, and I was in the trees in a huge area with no real points of reference. Big props to Snowbird patrol on that one. I was in pretty bad shape, so they strapped me to a board, put a neck brace on me, and got the oxygen flowing. Everything was moving pretty fast at this point, and I was fighting to not puke or black out. The sled ride down 1,600 vertical feet of mountain from the top of Gadzoom was not the most pleasant. Every bump sent waves of pain through my body. Patrol did their best to make the ride smooth though.

Once I was in the clinic below the Tram deck, the medical staff took over and did a great job. I had an irregular heart beat, so they did an EKG and took some x-rays immediately. I had a few obvious broken ribs on my left side, but they were concerned about internal bleeding and damage to my heart because the impact was so hard. They tried to get a life-flight helicopter to pick me up, but the weather was too bad to fly, so they called an ambulance to take me to the ER in Salt Lake. The morphine started to flow and things got much better at this point. I started talking a lot, almost uncontrollably, and I was having a strange out of body experience as we drove down Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was as if I was flying above the ambulance, watching us drive down to the valley.

Once I was down the canyon and in the ER at the University of Utah, I had another EKG, a couple ultra-sound tests to check my heart and organs, and tons of x-rays. Everyone kept saying how lucky I was, and the final verdict was a couple broken ribs, massive cartilage damage throughout my rib cage, and a bruised heart. They were also concerned because I had blacked out so long, from a combination of extreme pain and a lack of breathing. My girlfriend (now wife) Casey showed up at the hospital before I even got there, and she was great throughout the entire ordeal. After the doctors were done, I tried to sit up, but immediately blacked out again from the pain. I stayed in the hospital for a while longer, but they let me go home later that evening.

This is the 4th day since the crash and I have had some time to reflect on all of this. I guess it could be the Percocet talking, but I am damn lucky to be alive. This whole thing has me pretty shook-up. I was completely airborne and doing somewhere around 30-40mph when I hit that tree. If my flight path had been 6 inches off in any other direction, I would have hit the tree with my neck, face, or abdomen, and I would not be typing this right now. The impact was enormous, and I am really glad my ribs were up to the task of saving my ass. I have skied fast for years, and never really thought twice about dipping into the trees at ludicrous speeds. I have had some close calls in the past, but this was my first real injury that endangered my life. I know this will have an impact on my skiing, and I will definitely hesitate the next time I am getting ready to do a straightline or jump off something.

For those of you that know what I’m talking about, how did you get past this? Am I doomed to a life of skiing trees at slow speeds and taking the easy way out of a line?

I am currently staying with my girlfriend’s parents, Penny and Joe, and they have been amazing in helping me recover so far. Thanks Sowul family! I also wanted to say thanks to the Snowbird Patrol and everyone in the clinic. You guys were amazing, so professional, and you made a bad experience much better. Thanks.

For about a month following this accident, my spine was in a weird S-shape because my rib cage was no longer able to keep my body straight. The torn cartilage was more painful than the broken ribs, and I spent the better part of 4 weeks laying flat, while I healed.

It has been over 5 years since this accident, and I’ve had some time to reflect on it. I still do not know why my body decided to wake up after over five minutes of being unconscious, or how I hit that tree so perfectly in the center of my rib cage, which is what saved my life.

The following winter, I had quite a few moments while I was skiing when I  flashed back to the crash. I skied much more timidly that following year, and never left home without my helmet. It took about two years for my skiing to return to the level it was prior to the crash. Sometimes healing the mind takes longer than healing a broken body. I am definitely smarter about my line decisions that I was back then, but I am skiing faster now than I ever have.

I like to re-visit this post from time to time to remind myself of how quickly things can go wrong when you are sliding down a mountain at high speeds. Be safe out there this winter, and live every day to the fullest!