SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Former Yellowknifer Darryl Tait is using his creativity and the help of his friends to dive back into extreme sports after a terrible accident last fall which left him without the use of his legs.

Curtis Tait, left, stands beside his brother Darryl as he gets back on a skateboard, at the GF Strong rehabilitation centre in Vancouver, B.C. earlier this year. Standing behind them is Darryl Caves, a physiotherapist, and Derek Baker, a physio-assistant, on the far right. - photo courtesy of Darryl Tait

Tait, 20, has been out of GF Strong, a Vancouver rehabilitation clinic, since March 26, and has moved to Whitehorse, Yukon. He has already been out on his snowmobile with his family and friends for an Easter ride.

"I'm loving it," Tait told Yellowknifer on April 12.

He said the people at GF Strong gave him a free backrest they had kicking around, which he brought to the workshop at Vanier Catholic Secondary, a high school in Whitehorse where his uncle Russ Tait works.

"I showed the guys what my ideas were and my buddies mounted up the backrest on the seat," said Tait.

"At this time we didn't want to strap me down at all. If the machine did go end-over-end, I didn't want to be part of it."

He said he and his friends are working on redesigning the seat right now so he will be strapped in, but with a detaching mechanism so that Tait can separate himself from the machine at will. He also plans to put suspension and a swivel mechanism into the seat to give him more ability to move around.

Tait and his friends are also planning on building a "sledge" to play sledge hockey, a sport Tait witnessed being played at the Paralympic Games in Vancouver. Sledge hockey substitutes skates with a 'sledge,' which is a small seat with a ski-like mechanism on the bottom.

"It's a pretty insane sport to watch," said Tait.

"I wasn't really a big fan of hockey before, but sledge hockey has definitely caught my interest."

He said he's had trouble finding places to purchase sports gear for paraplegics, like sledges for sledge hockey. Most things need to be fully customized to the user.

Tait's main focus is getting back on his snowmobile and back into riding competitively. His eyes are set on going to the X Games.

In addition, he said he wants to find avenues to get back into motocross and skateboarding – things he excelled at before his accident,

"It's all doable, it's just a matter of getting creative and going out there and trying it," said Tait.

He added he's happy to be home in Whitehorse with a lot of his friends, and still "in the groove" when he goes out to the mountains with them – though he can't ride the way he used to, he can still give them feedback on the tricks they pull off and still enjoy being out on the summit.

Tait's parents, Jamie and Barb Tait, were in Whitehorse helping Darryl set up his new condominium, and will be going back to Atlin, B.C. once Darryl's all settled in. Friends of Darryl's renovated the condominium for wheelchair access before the Taits arrived.

Jamie said life isn't quite back to normal yet.

"I can't say its slowed down much," said Jamie with a laugh.

"We got home just a few days before Easter so all his cousins were up for Easter, and it was pretty hectic. Then he's got a steady flow of friends coming to visit."

Jamie added it was great to get back out on the snowmobile with Darryl over the Easter weekend. Tait wanted to thank everyone in Yellowknife who, through fundraising efforts, were able to install a lift onto his truck, and hand controls so that he can get in and out of his truck, and drive it around, without needing help.

"That's been a huge, huge advantage for me," said Tait.

Jamie said he's happy to see his son being able to get around by himself.

"He's getting more and more independent every day."