Maggie grew up in the Yampa Valley and has never left. Locals call it the “Yampa Valley Curse.” Maggie met her husband Devin when they were working at Steamboat ski resort. He was in the ticket office, and she was a ski instructor. She showed him a pair of skis she spray painted with the Colorado flag. They’ve been together ever since, sharing a love for the outdoors in their mountain community.
When their second child Charlie caught parechovirus meningitis at nine days old and sustained brain damage, everything changed. “We left Charlie’s survival in her hands. Whatever happened we were going to do what we needed to support Charlie,” explains Maggie.
When Charlie came home from the NICU, Maggie noticed she wasn’t tracking objects with her vision and was diagnosed with cortical visual impairment. Right away, they began working with their teacher from A Shared Vision. “She has provided me with so many great resources, tools, and advice. I like that we work on building Charlie’s strengths and how we can do activities that include her four-year-old brother William,” explains Maggie.
Like her parents, Charlie enjoys being outside. “I think it is very important for Charlie to experience what we enjoy doing,” explains Maggie. Wearing climbing skins on her skis, Maggie likes to hike up the mountain with Charlie in a backpack and Nellie, their dog. When the dog runs ahead, Maggie calls Nellie to come back and Charlie yells or giggles, too. When the family rides the gondola together, they talk about how they’re going up the mountain, the air is cool, and their skis make a clicking sound as they ski down. When they’re throwing snowballs in the river, Charlie likes the soothing sound of the water, and her body relaxes.
While not every family who has a child with a visual impairment can experience the outdoors like the Skrables can, Maggie believes it’s important to “focus on the beauty the world has to offer, not the ugly. Give yourself some grace. You are also learning how to navigate this new world as much as your child is.” And with her teacher from A Shared Vision as her guide, the journey is a little easier.