 Poster: A snowHead
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This extract is taken from "Inside Soldeu" magazine and is reproduced with the kind permission of James Barber (author) and Nigel Pearson
Hi, my name is Nigel Pearson and for those who don't know me, until recently I was a ski-instructor in Soldeu. Towards the end of the season 2004 I suffered an accident causing me to spend time in a variety of French medical establishments.
I had a crash, landed heavily on an icy and windblown black run, narrowly missing rocks and trees. Instead of using my skis to stop I used my head, bending it under my left armpit and causing spinal damage.
Had it not been for the swift actions of my two instructor friends who pulled my tongue out of my throat and called the ski patrol I would have died there and then. The removal job from such a perilous position without causing more damage was undertaken by a team of 7 ski patrollers from mountain services.
I am 6'4 and 15 stones in weight so not so easy to move and how these guys (and girls) did it remains a mystery to me, but they did, proving they are the unsung hero's of the resort and rarely appreciated by the skiing public until its too late.
I spent nearly a month in hospital in Toulouse being entertained by a daily prosession of friends from Soldeu and began to realise what vistors meant when talk of the friendliness and warmth of Soldeu and how distinct it is from any other ski resort in the world. For days on end my room was full of visitors, the late comers had to wait in the corridor and the parties went on till way after visiting hours, the nurses must have assumed I was the new Pope or the lead guitarist of an English band they didn't know of because nothing was ever said. It was a huge boost to my morale and undoubtedly helped in my recovery. Some women tell me they dont have a good figure, just a good bra, well I had a kind of morale wonderbra. Whenever my spirits sagged friends would turn up with chocolate and laughter to push me back up to a good 36C again.
After three and a half weeks I was stabilised, full of chocolate and moved on to a specialist neurological rehabilitation unit between Toulouse and Andorra called Verdaich, where I spent a further 11 months. It was an intense time and I made some good and lasting friendships with other inmates, forming bonds that will never be broken. Some of them are still in rehab, some will need 24 hour care for the rest of their lives, but all manage to smile and get on with their lives, something I took away with me.
That year I learnt a lot about myself, other people and the kindness of friends. Most uplifting of all, I was sent a collage of photo's of my buddies in the village with a border of the ski-school girls showing more than you would normally see of them whilst instructing ! Thank you girls.
I arrived in a helicopter paralysed and a year later walked out on two wobbly legs, speaking French and never again taking coffee with milk after breakfast !
" Whatever the state of the body, the spirit has no handicap "
THANKYOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT SOLDEU
Nigel - December 2005
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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He clearly has strong willpower and great friends, an uplifting article. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Paul Mason, I read the article above immediately after catching up with some of the threads from earlier last week, kind of puts the contents/arguments into perspective.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Great article, really shows the positive side to human nature and his spirit and determination to get through an awful time in his life.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Most uplifting of all, I was sent a collage of photo's of my buddies in the village with a border of the ski-school girls showing more than you would normally see of them whilst instructing ! Thank you girls.
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Not sure if that would be a good or a bad thing in his state. Nice article though. Full of people considering others first.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Inspiring article. By the way, from personal recent experience, I can confirm that visits to hospital by friends can be much appreciated. And balloons sent by fellow snowheads and SCGB forum members  OK, I wasn't in anything like the dire circumstances - but I've been reminded how important it is to remember those stuck in hospital.
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