NEWRY— In August 2007, Brandon Palmer of Bethel was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident at Songo Pond.

From his hospital bed at Maine Medical Center, Brandon told his mom, Shelley, that he had a goal: return to his job driving a snow groomer at Sunday River Ski Resort.

Two and a half years later, Brandon, 28, has achieved that goal, and more.

No feeling

Immediately after the accident, he said, “I couldn’t feel anything from my neck down.”

He had what is called an “incomplete” spinal injury. His spinal cord had been compressed and six vertebrae were broken.

Brandon underwent surgery at Maine Med in Portland.

There was hope he would regain some use of his limbs, but “they couldn’t tell me anything,” he said. “It could have gone either way.”

He hoped physical therapy would give him enough use of his hands to operate the snow groomer he had driven since he was 18.

The machine is entirely operated by hand levers and buttons.

“I wanted to come back,” he said.

Therapy

In the fall, Brandon was transferred to a therapy center in Atlanta, one of the best in the East.

Brandon said he felt discouraged at times, “but I had to face the reality of ‘this is what it is,’ and I had to do it.”

One day, he said, “I was lying in bed and looked down, and I was wiggling my right toes.”

He was on his way, slowly gaining movement, particularly in his upper body. Therapy included a lot of stretching, and when he gained movement in his hands, grasping at small objects.

He was one of six diving accident patients at the center. All of them were his age, he said. The camaraderie of their shared plight provided moral support.

“There’s always someone worse off,” Brandon said.

After several months, he left the Atlanta center for Kentucky, where his father lived. He continued therapy there and in November of 2008, returned to Maine.

By then, he could move his upper body fairly well, had some movement in his legs and had regained sensations of hot and cold. He used a wheelchair to get around.

He returned to his house in Bethel, where he lived on his own. A ranch-style home, the only adaptation it needed was an outside ramp, Brandon said.

Because his state-paid therapy funding had run out, Brandon was left to create his own therapy.

“I made a lot of progress doing everyday things,” he said.

During his recuperation, Brandon said, he stayed in touch with his Sunday River groomer boss, Alan Lowe.

“He said, ‘Let’s try (grooming) out when you come back to Maine,’” Brandon said.

Back in the saddle

Shortly after Brandon returned to Bethel, he went to Sunday River and rode as a passenger with another groomer.

He also got into the driver’s seat, and demonstrated he was able to move his right thumb and index finger enough to operate the buttons on the control stick that move the machine‘s blade and tiller.

And he had enough control of his left hand to operate the stick that drives the grooming machine.

By February 2009, he was back in the driver’s seat.

That helped his therapy, too.

“Running (the left control stick), I think I trained my thumb to move,” he said.

As time progressed, Brandon got more movement and control back in his legs, and that led him to another goal. He was determined to master the stairs in the Sunday River garage that lead to the groomers’ second-floor meeting room.

“I just started doing the stairs this year,” he said. “I decided to try it, and I did it.”

Brandon pulls himself up and down the staircase with the help of handrails on both sides. He’s also able to pull himself up on his own onto his machine’s track and into the cab.

A fellow worker “spots” for him in case of a slip.

The other workers help him some — as he was about to head out on the slopes Saturday, Brian Tibbetts adjusted a mirror — but not a lot.

Once in the cab, Brandon readies himself to join the convoy of groomers that head out at 4 p.m. When he’s thirsty, he drinks water from a camel pack attached to the inside of the door. The pack saves him from struggling with bottle caps.

When he finds he must deal with bottle caps or other challenging small tasks, “I use my teeth a lot,” he said.

Once out on the trails, he easily places his groomer into the staggered line of machines working their way up and down the slopes. He and the others groom until replaced by the midnight shift.

Other gains and goals

In addition to getting back in his groomer, Brandon has been able to resume some of the other activities he considers important.

A lifelong skier, he participates in the Maine Handicapped Ski program at Sunday River. He has been relearning how to navigate the trails seated on dual skis and holding outriggers — poles with small skis attached — in his hands.

He’s practicing on the beginner slopes right now but hopes to work his way up to harder trails.

And thanks to former groomer Linda Stansfield and her husband, Keith, he’ll soon have his own dual skis. They’ve ordered new equipment for him, he said.

Brandon has also returned to the woods during hunting season.

“My dad found a powered wheelchair in Kentucky and brought it up,” he said. In November, he said, “I saw a deer and shot at it, but I missed him.”

He’ll be back out this November.

Brandon also recently reached another milestone: He can take care of someone besides himself. He now shares his house with Mert, a six-month-old chocolate Lab.

Brandon said he’s grateful to everyone who has helped him on his way back to an active life.

“My family and friends have been a big help,” he said. “And I owe a lot to (Sunday River) for letting me come back.”