WINTER PARK - When Kyle Taulman was 2 years old, he suffered a serious problem that nearly took his life.
"I had a cancerous tumor that wrapped around my spinal cord and it shut it off," Kyle said. "I ended up with Neuroblastoma."
He lost the use of his legs. His mother, Julie Taulman, says doctors gave her son a 20-to-30 percent chance of living.
"I feel very blessed every day that he lived and he survived cause a lot of the kids didn't make it," Julie Taulman said.
Not only did Kyle survive, he has since thrived.
"I just love skiing," Kyle said. "I mean, I've loved it for a long time ever since my mom shoved me in a bucket when I was younger."
That padded bucket was attached to a bi-ski. Kyle was just 3 years old recovering from his cancer.
"I needed to know that there was life after paralysis," Julie Taulman said. "I basically said to myself we could do this. We can raise a child with a disability."
That child is now 14 years old and one of the newest members of the National Sports Center for the Disabled. He is taking part in the 41st Annual Wells Fargo Ski Cup, the major fundraiser for the NSCD.
"A starting cost for sit ski is $6,000," Becky Zimmermann, NSCD president and CEO, said.
Zimmermann says helping kids like Kyle keeps the organization refreshed.
"You see people like Kyle come through the program. They first kind of discover us and then they discover themselves," Zimmermann said.
Kyle is now hoping to make the Paralympic games some day in ski racing. He is learning from other athletes who have already paved the way.
"To actually meet those people in person and to see what they've done and see how they train," Kyle said. "They can inspire you cause you those people have done it."
The NSCD hopes to raise more than $250,000 this weekend through the Wells Fargo Ski Cup. Zimmermann says the NSCD helps around 3,500 people through more than 20,000 lessons.
Kyle hopes to become the organization's next success story.
"I just really love ski racing. It's really my passion and I want to progress to let everyone see that I've done something with it," Kyle said.
