02/01/2026
❤️ MUST READ!! HLEW FEATURED STORY OF INSPIRATION ❤️
Happy Sunday y’all. I hope everyone has had a chance to get out and enjoy all this beautiful snow! I come here today to share a story of inspiration to you all which I think you will find is amazing as I did. This one hit deep for me which is why I’ve held back on releasing this sooner because I didn’t want it to get lost in the headlines from the big storm.
Things have finally calmed down now and I feel now is the right time to share. As you all know, we put together a community extreme snow tubing event each year called “Snow Bomb Park” for families near and far to come and enjoy. Little did I know I would meet the most positive and inspiring young gal I’ve ever met.
Meet Salome pictured below. She came out to SBP with her Dad and Sister to take on the enormously steep and famous “KC Hill” for some extreme snow day fun! For those that don’t know… This hill is legendary and has a very intense drop with more steep thrills and humps at the bottom. The kicker: SHE WENT DOWN IT BLIND!!!
As most of you know, I too am a member of the half-blind community having only one working eye. The hill can be scary enough for most of us who can see to take it on under normal circumstances but not would I EVER have the courage to go down this hill without any eyesight whatsoever!
Salome was born in another country with an extremely rare condition called Bilateral Anophthalmia. For those that don’t know what this condition is… It means she was born without any eyeballs at all.
As you all know, I have zero tolerance for any forms of discrimination having a disability myself, so I could only imagine all she’s been through but never lets anything get in her way. I am huge advocate for all those with disabilities to exceed their capabilities and Salome sure took it to the next level having NO FEAR whatsoever by jumping on a snow tube and speeding down the slope at over 45mph completely blind and unaware of her surroundings. The empowerment she demonstrated truly gave me hope and brought tears to my eyes.
Having first met Salome, we had a very personal conversation discussing our hardships and immediately connected on a level most will never understand. She is just 14 Years old and was given up for adoption. Thankfully, Salome has been blessed with a great family that knows her superpowers and treats her like a normal person with nothing but love. This is how every disabled person wants to be recognized as. Normal and nothing more.
She is beyond smart and aspires to be an attorney one day. No doubt in my mind that her dream will come true after instantly seeing how amazingly smart she is in the legal field. Her and her family are from Wentzville, Missouri. She enjoys traveling, reading books from braille, writing and singing. Nothing in her path gets in the way of her condition and is a huge inspiration to all - especially those of us with disabilities by not letting her condition stop her from enjoying life to the fullest!
Salome likes to call me Mr. Chad and I will honorably go by that name any day seeing how much hope and encouragement she gave me not to mention how much she truly aspired every single person at SBP that day. She is one talented individual with a bright future ahead. We dedicate this year’s event to her. Additionally, she is the only person ever to be given the HLEW Gold Key with her family to come to SBP free for life or any other event we do for that matter.
It is my hope that you all took this moment to fully read this. Salome had a blast at Snow Bomb Park conquering the hill so many times that day. I even got the chance to tube doubles down the hill with her which was so much fun!
I’m she would love to hear words of encouragement from y’all below if you would like to take a moment to leave a comment for her.
Take Care,
- Chad
