Hard journey from slopes to links

One minute, Hunter Hanson was headed down hill on his second run of a ski race at Elk Mountain in the Poconos. Hunter, then 12, had already posted the fastest time of the day on the first run.

Then tragedy struck. Hanson's left leg gave out just a couple of gates before the finish line, and he crashed hard.

Now a 17-year-old junior at Episcopal Academy, Hanson said he doesn't remember everything that happened at Elk Mountain that day. But he is reminded of the results every day by all the surgeries and therapy sessions he has had to undergo since.

And while the accident cut short his competitive skiing career, it did not diminish his competitive spirit.

As a freshman, the 5-foot-7, 135-pound Hanson made the Episcopal varsity golf team. He is now among the Churchmen's top four players, sporting a five handicap.

"He's one of the most courageous athletes I've known," said Gina Buggy, Episcopal's athletic director.

"Hunter is a super kid with great spirit. He's a very consistent player and is very well-liked by his teammates," said golf coach Win Shafer.

Golf became important for Hanson when therapists suggested that walking would be good for him in his recovery. And while he sometimes must use one hand to hold a crutch while pulling his cart with the other, he doesn't seem to mind.

And golf is just one of the many activities Hanson is involved in. He sings baritone in the school's vocal ensemble, is on the student council and was honored last year with Episcopal's community service board award. He also had a role in the school's recent production of

Kiss Me Kate.

"I'm attracted to any type of music," said Hanson, an honors student.

Although time has dulled some of the memory of that day at Elk Mountain, Hanson will never forget one aspect of it.

"The ski patrol assisted me. I remember screaming in pain," said Hanson who was taken to the emergency room at Bryn Mawr Hospital. The X-rays showed he needed surgery for a serious fracture.

A piece of bone had broken off from the tibia, so two pins were inserted the next day at Children's Hospital. As time passed, the growth plate in his leg became troublesome, and he lost some ability to flex and extend the leg. He would be diagnosed with arthrofibrosis - excess scar tissue - and his leg began growing inward instead of straight.

Last August, Hanson underwent his latest surgery in which three pins were put in his thigh and another two were inserted where the femur and tibia meet.

Amazingly, three of the pins stuck out about four inches, Hanson said. "They gave me a wrench to adjust the screws each night. The pins finally came out in January.

"I've only had one golf lesson. I picked up the game very quickly."

Hanson said the strength of his game - he usually shoots in the high 30s or low 40s for the nine-hole high school game - is in his irons play.

"My irons are strong, and my putting is solid," he said. "I don't hit the ball far, but I'm accurate."

Hanson said he wants to continue his golf career at a "small liberal arts college" and plans to study business.