MIDWAY, Utah (KSL.com) — Nathan Ogden broke his neck in a ski accident in his 20s, resulting in lost feeling and an inability to move his legs and feet.
A hospital visit for pneumonia a year later, after he started to regain some feeling in the lower half of his body, led to an unconscious fall off an X-ray table that caused another break in his neck. This time, he was permanently paralyzed from the waist down with limited control of his hands.
Ogden, who lives in Boise, believes most people in his situation would have given up on life or at least felt unsure of how to move forward. He is not one of those people.
Nathan Ogden, of Boise, with his wife, Heather, and their four children. He was paralyzed after breaking his neck twice but hasn’t let it slow him down. | Courtesy photo
“After the first break, when I started to get some feeling back, I just knew I was going to walk again,” Ogden said. “The second break … I knew I wouldn’t. But I also knew this was not going to make me not live my life. Let’s just say, I’m not into extreme sports, but I do like adventure. That’s where I focused.”
Advertisement
After the second accident and some ensuing hardships, Ogden founded a nonprofit — Chair the Hope — that helps get wheelchairs to children who need them outside of the United States. He also became a corporate trainer and got into public speaking.
But, in 2022, after a BYU-sponsored trip to the Bahamas, Ogden’s love of adventure led to a love of scuba diving.
With the help of a “buddy” to keep him safe in the water, Ogden said he began to feel free. He also knew that most people — regardless of physical ability — do not get to enjoy scuba diving with their families in the pool, let alone in the Caribbean Sea.
It was then that he decided to have more control over his adventures in the ocean: He wanted to become a certified scuba diver. But there was a problem. There was no adaptive scuba diving certification program in Idaho. Luckily for him and his family, there was one relatively close — in Provo.
Just Breathe Adaptive is a nonprofit organization that aims to help people with disabilities participate in more recreational activities. It also trains people to be adaptive scuba diving buddies. The agency was founded two years ago, just in time to get a phone call from Ogden, wondering whether it could help him get certified.
Advertisement
It could, and he began the process, which culminated Friday at the Homestead Crater in Midway.
Nathan Ogden, right, speaks to a group with his wife, Heather, about his organization, Chair the Hope, which raises funds to buy wheelchairs for people outside of the U.S. – Chair The Hope.
“Nathan is courageous. He’s brave. He’s generous, he’s adventurous … he’s willing to try anything,” said Robin Knight, founder at Just Breathe Adaptive. “The hardest part is to convince somebody who has maybe spent their whole life in a wheelchair that this is an option for them. It’s actually very recreational, very safe.”
Beneath a 55-foot-tall limestone rock, in the 93-degree water of the crater on Friday morning, Ogden worked with a couple of buddies as he completed all that was needed to achieve his certification. His wife and daughter were not too far away, also completing their scuba diving certification process. For them, the best part about all of Nathan Ogden’s adventures is that they can be together.
Even if it can be a little nerve-wracking for Ogden’s wife, Heather.
“Yeah, he’s crazy adventurous. Our whole family is that way,” said Heather Ogden. “I’m the one that worries about his limitations. I’m the most stressed out of the entire family. But I love being able to see him do these things.”
Nathan Ogden also hopes to show others — with any disability, or what he calls “different-ability” — that he does not have to be out in the sea’s waters alone. Anyone is welcome to join him by getting certified and finding a new hobby.
Advertisement
“I want to let everyone with a ‘different-ability’ know that they can do this. It’s about the memories, the memories you create,” he said. “They’re the only things we can take with us.”
=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https://www.eastidahonews.com/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”>
JACKSON, Wyo. — Springtime conjures images of adorable baby animals. Unfortunately, sometimes well-meaning humans feel compelled to interfere with Mother Nature by “rescuing” baby animals who appear to be alone.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) issued a spring reminder discouraging people from intervening when they assume a wild animal is lost, abandoned or orphaned.
“While these folks typically mean well, the sad reality is they are often doing more damage than good when they intervene — and typically, mom was not far away to begin with,” IDFG shared in a press release.
“Here’s the hard truth,” the agency wrote. “Animal parents will periodically leave their young for an extended period of time for a myriad of reasons, whether it’s to search for food, to rest or to divert attention from their vulnerable offspring, especially if they sense danger. When it comes to wildlife babies, wildlife mothers know best.”
Advertisement
In short, in an encounter with a lone duckling, gosling, deer fawn, baby bird, red dog or moose calf, do not disturb it. Instead, contact the state’s wildlife agency to report it. In Jackson, call the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at (307) 733-2321. In Idaho, reach IDFG at (208) 525-7290.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Idaho Cash: 8 p.m. MT daily.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
I remember watching a documentary about Idaho’s wildlands. A narrator said there were probably many parts of the state where no human being has ever set foot. I believe that, but I stay relatively close to the highways. If I were 30 years younger, I would probably enjoy exploring the back country, but today, unless a plane takes me in and out, it’s not happening. I can’t say definitively that there is one spot that I find better than others. We’re surrounded by beautiful terrain, however. One place keeps calling me back.
Like a Scene from a Legendary Movie
When I go over the mountain between Gooding and Fairfield, I take time to stop at the overlook above the Camas Prairie. It reminds me of a scene in Exodus, where the Paul Newman character takes an American woman to look across a flat plain leading to Mount Tabor. He explains that’s the site where Deborah gathered her armies. It makes me feel there is something godly about the Camas Prairie. I keep going back to this spot. Sometimes I take along a folding chair and sit and look at the world below.
Slow Down and See the Work of the Creator
Fairfield may be nothing more than a blip as people speed down Route 20, but it’s their loss. On the other side of the highway is some of the prettiest country in Idaho. It’s going to be a lot less lush this spring, but drought conditions haven’t been nearly as severe in the central highlands. But if I’m granted a few more years by the Almighty, I plan to see the prairie for many more springs.
‘Miserable’: McCall 4th of July Getaway Gets Roasted
What was once a great little summer escape has become a total headache according to the internet
