On October 8, 2008, a group of Kentuckians made history at one of the nation’s most picturesque locations.  They also achieved the hopes and dreams of a young lady whose adventurous spirit is as big as her heart.  Sara Services of Kentucky made history for being the first paraplegic to descent to the bottom of the Grand Canyon National Park.

“Oh, my gosh, it was even more than I thought it would be,” beamed 22 year old Sarah Services freshly back from her trip to the Grand Canyon.  “It was beautiful; it was fantastic.”  Sarah severed her spine six years ago as a result of an automobile accident and it has been her dream to become the first paraplegic to descend to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

This effort was spearheaded by Camp KYSOC Director Jim Ebert.  Ebert and a team of eight volunteers, ranging in vocation from pastors, to high school seniors, to a UK College student, were assembled to do the work of pushing and pulling Sarah’s TrailRider.  The TrailRider is a revolutionary, lightweight, one-wheeled cart that allows the person to be transported across rugged terrain.  These individuals pushed and pulled Sarah for a total of 9 miles and over more than 6,000 erosion logs, which Park officials had placed like stepping stones to prevent erosion.  The erosion logs made the trip more difficult because the cart with Sarah in it had to be picked up and carried over each log.

“This has been a total team effort by many people.  Everyone has come together to make this trip happen for Sarah and it is truly was a historic event,” said Ebert.  Ebert has plans to take other people with disabling conditions which limits their ability to walk.