Actor Ellie Henry, 23, is the latest personality to back a new campaign designed to empower disabled children and adults across Great Britain through adaptive snowsports.
Ellie, best known for her role-playing Freya Calder on long running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome at 15 -years-old, leading her to become an ambulatory wheelchair user.
This summer, she is supporting the charity that is teaching her to ski, Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK), as they bid to raise £10,000 during the summer Olympic and Paralympic games by encouraging people to take on a 10,000m sporting challenge and raise money to support grass roots snowsports.
Ellie recently discovered sit skiing after taking lessons with Disability Snowsport UK at the Chill Factore in Manchester.
She says “I grew up being very sporty, daring and never stopped moving. I had dreams of becoming and Olympic gymnast and then one day I suffered an injury taking a dance class when I was 15 years old. It was only when I received treatment that I learned I had a rare inherited connective tissue disorder, which meant my life was about to change forever.”
Ellie, whose character in Hollyoaks was left with life-changing injuries in a minibus crash, says “Disability forced me to live a life sitting down and initially I couldn’t find a single positive. It’s only now, eight years later, that I’ve started to find myself again.
“Sit skiing has been a massive deal for me; finding adrenaline and adventure in a way I didn’t think I’d be able to has really unlocked something in my mind. Throwing myself down a slope and hoping for the best is my new form of therapy.”
“I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie but didn’t think skiing would be accessible for me. When I discovered it was possible, I haven’t looked back! I’m still at the early stages of my skiing journey but it’s already become a huge passion in my life and helps with my confidence on and off the slopes,” Ellie continues, adding, “Skiing has already given so much back to me and I’m only just getting started. I know DSUK are a small, niche charity and need all the support they can get, so I’m delighted to help them shine a spotlight on adaptive snowsport through my story and back their new #TeamDSUK 10k for £10k campaign.
“If you can, I encourage you to sign up and take on a 10k run, swim, cycle, ski or whatever challenge you want! By getting your friends and family to sponsor you; you can help them to raise the funds this amazing charity need this summer and help more people like me experience this wonderful sport.”
“Being a winter sports-based charity, the summer is a time of the year when we’re often forgotten about. But, like the community we exist to support, disabilities and injuries aren’t seasonal, so it’s vital we raise these funds now,” said DSUK CEO Virginia Anderson adding,
“The great thing about skiing and the work that we do in the UK especially, is that adaptive skiing and snowboarding is an activity that can be enjoyed 365 days a year and not just over the winter months. You can get involved and help people like Ellie experience new freedoms on the slope that can breathe confidence into all aspects of life. Please join our team of sporting fundraisers this summer.”
“I’m no longer shocked when I see myself in a wheelchair in a mirror. Maybe that’s because I see myself on screen in the chair so much, or maybe it’s because I’ve stopped being scared to look and truly see myself sat down. Either way I now see myself, and not a version of me I don’t know who’s sat down. That’s the biggest win and I’m so excited to see where my skiing journey takes me,” Ellie concludes.
To take part in the #TeamDSUK 10k for £10k challenge or to learn more about Disability Snowsport UK visit : www.disabilitysnowsport.org.uk/events/10k-for-10k
To make a donation to the campaign visit: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/10kfor10k
All images ©Cameron Ross Hall – Holmlands
