NEWRY – In 1980 in Germany, Army Sgt. Stanley Munson crashed his Volkswagen bus into a tractor-trailer, breaking almost everything in his body except his back, hip and left arm. The Belfast man also lost his sight.

Air Force veteran Mark Bilodeau, 46, of Poland, was twice stricken with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks a portion of the peripheral nervous system. The second time left him a quadriplegic.

Both men never thought they’d be able to do anything again, but, adaptive skiing turned their lives around.

On Wednesday, with help from Maine Handicapped Skiing volunteers, both skied during the Veterans/No Boundaries winter program at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry.

Sixteen other physically disabled veterans from across Maine and New England joined Bilodeau and Munson, learning how to ski downhill and Nordic, snowboard, snowshoe and dogsled during the second annual three-day event that began Monday.

“It’s programs like this that really give us our focus in life,” Munson said Wednesday afternoon. “This program gives you the self-confidence to take on a lot of challenges. They literally give people their lives back, and, you really can’t put a price on it.”

Bilodeau agreed.

“When you’re disabled, you think doors are closed to you, because you don’t realize there is a lot of adaptive therapy available,” he said. “I skied the Alps in Germany and France, but I never thought I’d ski again. Then, I come here, and I find out its adaptive. It’s very heartwarming.”

Munson, who spent nine months recuperating in a hospital, said he has some light perception and can see vague silhouettes, but that’s it. That’s why it was difficult to learn to ski.

“From a vision standpoint, it’s a real trust issue, because you’re placing your life in their hands, and you have to have no fear. There was some insecurity when I started, but now, I have a lot of confidence in this program. I know I can trust my guide, and, when I’m on the outside, I can trust someone else,” Munson said.

Bilodeau got his affliction 25 years ago in the service. He said it’s sort of like multiple sclerosis, but, he has a chance to get better.

“I got it pretty bad the first time. I was paralyzed for eight months, but I had almost 100 percent recovery. They said some people get it again, but when you’re 22 and bulletproof, who would ever think of that happening again?” he said.

Nearly six years ago, the unthinkable struck.

“The first one was scary, the second one was maddening,” Bilodeau said.

On life support for three months, he underwent a tracheotomy because he couldn’t breathe on his own.

“After the first one, I knew it took me eight months to get out of bed, but after the second one, after two years, I was not walking, and I was mad. I was completely quadriplegic,” Bilodeau said.

However, after intensive therapy, he left his wheelchair behind a few years ago, and now skis with ski-equipped outriggers attached to each arm and braced skis on his feet, four-track style.

“Skiing is exhilarating. When you’re trapped in a body that doesn’t work, and you get off the ski lift and go flying, it’s freedom,” Bilodeau said.

He credited Maine Handicapped Skiing with teaching him about balance and mobility. And, through its Veterans/No Boundaries summer and winter programs, he has done whitewater rafting, bicycling, and, this week, snowshoeing, dogsledding and Nordic skiing, all things he’d never tried before.

Success stories like Bilodeau’s and Munson’s – made possible by donations of food, money and time from American Legions across Maine, businesses, entertainers and individuals – make Wendy Iseman smile.

Although exhausted after the event, Maine Handicapped Skiing’s director of development and public relations said she’s already eyeing the future.

“Our goal is to bring in the service people who had injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are ready to pursue recreation and sports. We’re ready for them,” Iseman said.