/

Paralyzed hiker completes AT, brings inspiration to local girl

7 mins read
Stacey Kozel of Ohio, meets with Grace LaPointe, 6, of Wilton. Kozel stopped by to meet with LaPointe of Wilton after completing the Appalachian Trail.
Stacey Kozel of Ohio, meets with Grace LaPoint, 6, of Wilton, who is hugging the stuffed dog Kozel gave her. Kozel stopped by to meet with LaPoint  after completing the Appalachian Trail.
Stacey Kozel at the summit of Mt. Washington in new Hampshire.
Stacey Kozel at the summit of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. (Photo courtesy of Kozel)

FARMINGTON – After completing the arduous 2,200-mile hike along the Appalachian Trail on the summit of Mount Kathadin one week ago, an Ohio woman stopped by to visit a 6-year-old Wilton girl whom she’d never met before.

Inside Java Joes on Monday morning as customers came in for their coffees, Stacey Kozel, 41, of Medina, Ohio, grinned as she sat across from Grace LaPoint, a W.G. Mallett School student.

The intent of Kozel’s visit was to give the young girl the idea that anything is possible if you just put your mind to it.

It’s something Kozel knows a little something about.

Kozel and LaPoint share the same challenge because they are both paraplegic.

Kozel’s legs are paralyzed from an autoimmune disorder diagnosed when she was 19, and LaPoint, also paraplegic, has spina bifida, a birth defect of the spinal column.

Despite her challenges, Kozel reached the summit of Mt. Kathdin on Oct. 9 after hiking the entire Applachian Trail over a nearly seven-month period.

LaPoint, daughter of Meredith Podgurski, makes her way around in a wheelchair and has endured dozens of surgeries.

Kozel was diagnosed with lupus and battled it for years, but in 2014 the disease attacked her central nervous system, causing her to lose muscle function. Through hard work, she recovered control of her arms and her upper body, but her legs remained paralyzed. Having always wanted to hike the entire AT, from Georgia to Maine, new technology has made that possible, along with a whole lot of grit and determination on Kozel’s part.

A pair of computer-generated leg braces bend her knees as her hips flex so she can walk. On March 24 Kozel set out at Springer Mountain, Georgia, to begin her journey along the Appalachian Trail.

“I put one foot in front of the other and just started walking,” she said and along the way, “I found it was a great opportunity to meet people.”

Hiking along the toughest trail sections meant changing back to her original leg braces. “I still use my core and hips to make them work (just as I do with the newer braces) but my knees don’t bend and it makes uneven terrain more of a challenge,” she wrote in her Facebook page entry.

One year ago on Columbus Day weekend, she had tried climbing Mt. Kathadin with a friend to see if she could do it, but didn’t reach the top.

Although she had accomplished hiking nearly the entire the length of the AT, as she neared the final climb up Katahdin doubt crept in. Friends accompanied her as she attempted it again.

“I literally crawled to the summit. We got delayed so I didn’t quite get the early start that I wanted but the weather started out perfect. Around the last 1.5 miles the weather quickly turned very bad…temperature quickly dropping, pouring freezing rain that seemed to come from every direction (and sometimes feeling like ice pellets on my face) with the very high winds. I don’t even remember how many times the wind literally knocked me over. My hands were so frozen I couldn’t grip my poles,” Kozel wrote on Facebook.

On Monday, sitting in the sunny warmth of Java Joes, Kozel’s finger tips were still tender from the bitter cold climb. Despite any discomfort or doubt she may have felt, her perseverance to continue up the mountain never wavered.

“I didn’t want to let anyone down. I didn’t care if I had to crawl. I wanted to do it,” Kozel said and then she added with a smile, “It wasn’t a pretty sight seeing me hike up the mountain.” She reached the summit at 1 a.m. on Oct. 9.

Listening to all this, was LaPoint who watched Kozel describe her ordeal. The six-year-old hugged the giant stuffed dog Kozel had brought her as a gift.

LaPoint’s aunt, Kerri Podgurski, contacted Kozel though her Facebook page after reading about her quest to hike the entire AT. She asked if she would be willing to come and meet with her niece while still in Maine.

That idea came to Podgurski when she was with LaPoint at her dance class and she mentioned she wanted to be able to get up from her wheelchair and twirl around like the other dancers.

“I saw Stacey’s story and I,” Podgurski said, her voice breaking with emotion as she looked at her niece, “wanted her to be inspired. To not just see it as a disability.”

“It is inspiring to see what Stacey has done. It’s when you put your mind to it, it gets done,” Podgurski added.

“I felt my hike was bigger than me. It gave me the chance to reach out and all that matters is that you get back up again,” she said smiling at LaPoint.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

8 Comments

  1. Thank you so very much Stacey. You made a tremendous difference in a 6 year old girl’s life, and I dare say, in many many other people’s lives also. And, Congratulations!!! on hiking the AT.

  2. What a great story and inspiration to others. We met grace a few summers ago camping she loves our dog abby.

  3. What a great story and what an inspiration to others with disabilities. Anything is possible with determination
    and faith in yourself that you can reach your goal whatever it is.

  4. Congratulations on overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds! I’ve hiked portions of the trail though the years, so I know what you faced. It wasn’t easy, but you proved that anything is possible if you set your mind to it! What’s next?!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.