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"The Kees Brenninkmeyer Foundation picked me up, dusted me off and put me back in the game. I can’t thank them enough. My world stopped on July 27th 2019 when I simultaneously dislocated both my right and left shoulders in a climbing accident in Murrin Park, British Columbia. I was climbing a slab and had my arms over my head with my elbows above my shoulders, gripping little crystals and my feet poised in a small sloping dish. I lost purchase with both my feet at the same time and was dragged down the wall resulting in anterior dislocations of both my shoulders, before the rope caught my weight. The left shoulder immediately self reducted, but the right remained out of place. There wasn’t much I could do and self rescued from the park. Upon hospitalization, an X-RAY showed a small bone contusion of the glenoid bone. I knew it was going to need surgical intervention. It took me almost a month to get an appointment with an Orthopedic Surgeon in Whistler where I lived, and she informed me it would be months before I would reach the top of the list for surgical reconstruction. The Canadian medical system is good but they lack the ability to help athletes like myself who don’t have the financial backing to get timely medical diagnosis and repair. It was looking like my winter aspirations were spiraling down the drain, when a mentor of mine Lee Anne Patterson recommended, I apply to the Kees Brenninkmeyer Foundation. One of life’s biggest challenges is time. We never seem to have enough. As a professional athlete and ACMG guide I needed to return to my career in a very short period of time between the accident and the beginning of the 2020 winter season. Without the support of the Kees Brenninkmeyer Foundation that would have been impossible. I chose to have the surgery in Vail Colorado at The Steadman Clinic, the same clinic who had helped my mentor years earlier. Dr. Peter Millett, renowned for his experience in shoulder reconstruction, was the perfect choice of the many famous surgeons working at the clinic. At four months post op, I went back to working as a ski guide full time. By 6 months I was mountain biking and climbing. If you had told me 7 months ago, I was going to come out of this stronger than I was before I probably wouldn’t have believed you. The Kees Brenninkmeyer Foundation believed in me and provided me with the foundation to believe in myself. Thank you KBF! "
- Chelsea Sullivan