GLOBAL RESCUE
Jeff Bak races at Stowe.
MY STORY
Two unlucky breaks — and
two lucky ones By Jeff Bak
I’ve broken my leg two times. And both times, Global Rescue
has, well, rescued me.
The first time was in the fall of 2007 in Argentina. My coaches had
forgotten that everyone at Green Mountain Valley School had Global
Rescue memberships, so they originally told me that I would have to
travel around with them for the rest of the trip, as there really was no
alternative that they saw.
Luckily that was not the case, and I received a call from my parents
saying that someone from Global Rescue was on the way. It was some
of the best news that anyone could have given me, considering my
situation. Sure enough, roughly 30 hours after my crash (it takes a while
to get to remote ski resorts in Argentina), I met up with an ex-Marine
from Global Rescue who flew with me the rest of the way home. He
was an incredibly nice guy, and made my travel home effortless. His
credentials let him skip any line we could have possibly had to wait in,
and he whisked me around in a wheelchair. He also gave my parents
email updates from his Blackberry, which they definitely appreciated,
Upon arriving back in Stowe, Vt., I parted ways
with Global Rescue. I had surgery a couple of days
later, and rehabbed my leg back to 100 percent
over the course of the next several months. The
injury occurred in September and I was ski racing
by the end of December.
