About Carson Nyenhuis

I am an outdoor enthusiast that has a love for nature, wildlife, and the sports that go with it.

In October 2016 I was in a bad motorcycle accident that left me paralyzed from the chest down, due to fractures of the T3 and T4 vertebrae of the thoracic spine.  I also fractured the CI and C2 in my neck and was lucky to not have any spinal cord damage there. I was very fortunate to still have my arms

As you might have guessed, recovery from an accident like mine is quite a process, with a lot of ups and downs.  Put simply, there just wasn’t anything easy about it.  Unfortunately, fractures to multiple bones in both hands further complicated the healing process – both physically and psychologically. I had to have alternating surgeries on my hands so it was a very difficult healing process.  As a result, I did a lot of sitting around...a lot!  All of this idle time and pain led to a lot of depressing days, and the mental challenges were becoming equally if not more difficult to overcome than were the physical barriers. 

I would think every day about all the things I COULDN’T do, about the activities that I wouldn’t be doing ever again.  And I had enjoyed so many great experiences in my life up to that point; basically if it was something to do with the outdoors or wheels, I was in. There were sooo many things that I was going to “miss” out on.  The depression appeared to be getting the best of me.  

This was hard but I wasn’t going to let it take over my life. I’m going to enjoy every last minute of the rest of my life and get back into my love for the outdoors and motorsports. Unlike many others in my position I am fortunate to have such a supportive group of friends and large family that really stepped up when I needed it the most.  My brother got me back onto the lawn mower, riding three wheelers on the ice, boating, fishing, and anything I wanted to do, he’s there for me! My friend Dave would throw me over his shoulders to carry me in to the hunting blind. My close friends got me back to Colorado skiing the first year after my accident. I’ve also got into hand cycling, and many other things this past summer.  I’m not a therapist or anything but - I tell you what – these activities are far more effective than any drugs or therapy. 

Above all, I discovered that getting back into the wilderness proved to be the most important benefit to my emotional and spiritual well-being.  And this is how hunt2heal was born.