REMEMBERING JIMMIE HEUGA

ARTICLES

JIMMIE'S COURAGE - An example to all 
From Can Do MS
As we reflect on our great loss, we’re reminded of Jimmie’s courage to take a stand for people with MS and their support partners. He believed people are more than their MS.  His example taught us that by focusing on what we can do and making healthy lifestyle choices, we can live passionately and love life. Can Do MS staff and Jimmie

Thank you for believing in us, Jimmie.
Thank you for teaching us how to regain our power, believe in ourselves and listen to ourselves.
Thank you for your contagious enthusiasm for life, inspiring thousands of people to realize their true potential.
Thank you for your infectious smile and sense of humor, allowing people to let go of their fear and be who they want to be.
Thank you for your twinkle of hope that showed through your compassionate listening of others. 

You are missed and loved. We promise to uphold your courageous and pioneering can do philosophy by empowering people with MS and their support partners to transform and improve their quality of life. We pledge our commitment to honoring your can do spirit and legacy that lives in everyone.

Jimmie speaking and fundraising

APRIL CELEBRATION OF JIMMIE'S LIFE
The Heuga family will host a celebration of Jimmie's life in April 2010.  Details to be determined.

CONDOLENCES 
The Heuga family has asked that people make contributions to the Jimmie Heuga Center Endowment in lieu of flowers.

Please send all condolences (cards, letters, etc.) to:
Attn: Heuga Family
Can Do Multiple Sclerosis
27 Main St. Suite 303
Edwards, CO 81632

All condolences addressed to the Heuga family will be delivered to them.

Jimmie in his sit ski

 Words from Founder Jimmie Heuga  (December 2009)

We recently interviewed our founder Jimmie Heuga to get his perspective on the future of Can Do MS. 
 
What is your vision for the future of the organization? To fully offer programs throughout the US and the world. 

How are you excited about your new role (Fundraising and Public Education Director of the Jimmie Heuga Center Endowment) in the organization? 

This new contract causes me to become, once again, active with Can Do MS in a different way, reinforcing my commitment to the cause. 

What have you seen in the organization that you're proud of?

I am proud of the number of people who have passed through Can Do MS's programs; the commitment and joy of the programs consultants/staff the enthusiastic sense of commitment, caring and competition among the staff to arrive at the clearest interdisciplinary picture for each participant in the Can Do MS's programs; and the staff and their understanding of the distinction between disease and ones' health.  

What advice would you give the Can Do MS Board of Directors, staff and volunteers to prepare for another 25 years of helping people living with MS see beyond their challenges and focus on what they can do?

That should a cure to MS come about, the original mission of The Heuga Center, now Can Do MS, would be just as relevant. The ultimate goal being the pursuit of health - mental, physical, emotional. 

Also, that we, as an organization, continue to help others pursue their health and maintain their health. You see, a cure to the disease will not, ultimately, give us our health. Our health is something that we have the responsibility of maintaining. So Can Do MS, ideally, could offer and expand its lifestyle empowerment programs to people living with other chronic diseases. 

Jimmie Heuga was appointed the first campaign fundraising and public education director for the Jimmie Heuga Center Endowment in 2009. In this outreach role, Jimmie raised awareness and solicited contributions to support Can Do MS's lifestyle empowerment programs and services now and in perpetuity.   

JIMMIE HEUGA (1943 - 2010)

"Focus on what you CAN DO." - Jimmie Heuga

Jimmie Heuga grew up near Lake Tahoe, California and started skiing at the age of two. He began competing when he was five years old and, at 15, he was the youngest man ever named to the U.S. Ski Team.

In 1964 Heuga stunned the international skiing community when he took the bronze medal in slalom at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Billy Kidd finished second, just a heartbeat ahead of Heuga and together they became the first American men to earn Olympic medals for Alpine skiing. In 1967, Heuga finished third in point standings in the World Cup giant slalom and was the first American to win the prestigious Arlberg-Kandahar race in Garmisch, Germany.

Heuga began noticing symptoms of what would later be diagnosed with MS in the spring of 1967, experiencing vision problems and numbness in his extremities. After competing in the 1968 Olympics, he joined the professional racing circuit still hindered by mysterious symptoms.  In 1970, he finally received an official diagnosis of MS. He was 26 at the peak of his skiing career.

When he was diagnosed, doctors advised that he avoid physical activity because it was thought that it would exacerbate his symptoms. Heuga founded The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis, now Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, in 1984 to challenge the conventional medical opinion of the time, and share his program of physical activity, goal-setting and psychological motivation that improved his physical condition and outlook on life and MS. He has spent years sharing and teaching the principles that transformed his life from one of uncertainty to one of an active pursuit of personal health and well-being.

Today the whole person philosophy and approach that Jimmie pioneered over 25 years ago is acknowledged within the MS community as a standard of MS care.

Heuga lived in Louisville, Colo in an assisted-living facility since 1999 and used a wheelchair. He traveled on behalf Can Do MS's programs and fundraising events, speaking about how he overcame his challenges of living with MS and raising money as the Fundraising and Public Education Director of the Jimmie Heuga Center Endowment. He exercised regularly by swimming or bicycling on a custom-built, hand-pedaled tricycle. He also skied at every available opportunity.

“I’m not sitting here languishing, waiting for a cure,” says Heuga firmly.  “I am dedicated to maintaining my overall health because it helps me live the best life possible with MS.”

MORE INFO
James "Jimmie" Frederick Heuga
September 22, 1943 -  February 8, 2010Jimme Skiing in Sit Ski

• Born in 1943 in Lake Tahoe, CA, to Lucille and Pascal Heuga, a Basque immigrant who ran the cable car at Squaw Valley, CA.
• Jimmie began skiing at two and three years later, he was competing on the junior circuit.
• In 1958, at 15, he was named to the US Ski Team, coached by Bob Beattie. Jimmie remains the youngest man ever on its roster.
• In 1964 he won the Olympic bronze medal in the slalom in Innsbruck in 1964.
• He and Billy Kidd were the first American men to stand on an Olympic podium holding an alpine ski medal
• During the 1968 Olympics, he experienced early symptoms of MS.
• Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 26 in 1970.
• Heuga tapped the goal-setting skills he learned from coach Beattie and built a fitness and wellness program based on exercise and positive thinking. At the same time, the progress of the disease slowed significantly, suggesting that exercise, though no cure, had deterred the debilitating effects of MS.

Jimmie Heuga's Awards
• 6th place at 1963 NCAA Champion in slalom
• 4th place in the combined at 1966 World Championships at Portillo, Chile
• First American to win the prestigious Arlberg-Kandahar race in Garmisch, Germany
• Founded The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis in 1984 (now Can Do Multiple Sclerosis)
• Honored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
• Named “Competitor of the Year” from the North American Snowsports Journalists Association
• Honored with the Texaco Star Award 

• Served on and was honored by President Clinton’s Council on Physical Fitness
• Inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in 2008
• Appointed as the first campaign fundraising and public education director for the Jimmie Heuga Center Endowment in 2009Jimmie with CAN DO Program participants, Howard and Barbara Brinton

How Jimmie started The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis (now Can Do Multiple Sclerosis)
The Snow Express for MS — the prelude to the Vertical Express for MS — began in 1985, when skiing Olympian Jimmie Heuga and ten others set a world record, skiing one million vertical feet during 24 hours in Alyeska, Alaska. This event raised the seed money to started The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis (now Can Do Multiple Sclerosis), an innovative provider of lifestyle empowerment programs.

The organization’s roots run deep in the skiing world. When Jimmie was diagnosed with MS, it was a blow to the tight-knit racing community. Later, when he established The Heuga Center the skiing world stepped up to the financial challenge. In May, 1985, friends and associates organized the first Snow Express for MS, a massive fundraiser in Alyeska, Alaska. Ten participants broke records when they skied one million vertical feet in 24 hours. The ski marathon raised $250,000 in seed money for the fledgling organization.

Over the years, Snow Express (now known as Vertical Express for MS) broadened to include racers of all ages and abilities. It grew to be one the premier on-snow fundraising events in North America. Thousands have participated in Snow Express races at 30 different ski areas, raising as much as $1 million per year for the nonprofit organization Jimmie founded.

Can Do MS's CAN DO Program
The first lifestyle empowerment program that The Heuga Center for Multple Sclerosis (now Can Do Multiple Sclerosis) provided in 1986 was based on Jimmie’s fitness and wellness program he started when he was first diagnosed with MS in the 1970s. The CAN DO program name exemplifies Jimmie's can do attitude and spirit. Over the past 25 years the CAN DO program has helped thousands of people with MS and their support partners see beyond their MS by giving them the knowledge, skills, tools and confidence to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors, actively co-manage their disease and live their best lives. Read more about Can Do MS's CAN DO program ...

Read more about the nonprofit organization Jimmie founded ...