Patient Information
Jacob: I'm Jacob. How many days do you practice a week?
Dani: Hey, Jacob. Thank you for the question. I practice six days a week, so I get one off day a week, and I actually just got back from practice. So, I have another one this afternoon. So, most days I do have two practices a day.
Phoenix: Hi, Dani. My name is Phoenix. I have a question. Are superstitions big and Paralympics, as big as they are in regular sports, for example, baseball?
Dani: Hey, Phoenix. Thanks for your question. Interesting question. I don't think I have any superstitions. I don't know. I would have to ask my teammates if they have anything. But I don't think that our sport relies on it as much, maybe, heavily, because it's a racing sport, and it's such a long race that there's kind of time. I don't know.
Phippin: Hi. My name is Phippin. How old were you when you decided to do Paralympics?
Dani: Hey, Phippin. Good question. I actually only got started doing the Paralympics just about 2 1/2 years ago. And so, it's been a short amount of time compared to a lot of people. But I just didn't know much about adaptive sports when I was growing up, and I always played for my school, and things like that. So, I didn't even really know I was Paralympic eligible. And it's just been just about 2 1/2, almost 3, years.
Jacob: Can you do a 360?
Dani: Jacob just asked if I could do a 360. In cross country skiing, we don't really do any tricks, at all. I think I can almost maybe land 360 if I was just standing still and tried to quickly jump around on my skis. But unfortunately no tricks, for us.
Henry: Hi. I'm Henry, and I'm 11 years old and I just got my cast on. And I was wondering how you overcome injuries. And could you bring me back something?
Dani: Hey, Henry. Thanks for the video. I'm sorry to see you have a cast on. I'm curious what happened, but I really do like the camo cast. That's sweet. I have had quite a few injuries now in my career, and I still have some ongoing ones. And to be honest, I don't know how to deal with them always, but I do my best to do different exercises, go to physical therapy, and always listen to my physical therapist if he tells me to do something. Ice is my a best friend. Heat's my best friend. So, there's lots of different remedies I use. And let me know what you want me to bring back.
Izzy: Hi. I'm Izzy Hester. I'm a patient at Shriners' Hospital, and I was wondering what it was like to compete in front of the whole world.
Dani: Hey, Izzy. Thank you for your question. Izzy asked what it was like to compete in front of the whole world. In Tokyo, it was quite a different experience. With COVID, there were no actual fans in the Olympic stadium where we competed for track, but knowing that there was tons of cameras around and people might be tuning in online was definitely intimidating. I don't know if I was ready to handle that pressure. But because of that experience, hopefully now, this time around, for Beijing, I'll be in a better place for that.
Jacob: I like skiing, but I'm afraid of going down big hills. Were you ever afraid of going down big hills. If so, how do you get over it?
Dani: Our last question from Jacob is, how did I get over the fear of going down big hills. In cross country skiing, we don't have as craziest downhills as Alpine skiing, but I do still get afraid of some of the downhills we have in cross country. I've only been cross country skiing for two years. And probably one of my biggest faults in the sport is that I still have some fear going downhill. So, I'm trying to practice that.
Sarah Jane: 04:11 Hi, my name is [Sarah 00:04:13] Jane, and I'm a patient at Shriners' Hospital for Children. You are a hero to all of us. So, my question is, who is your hero?
Dani: 04:22 [Sarah 00:04:22] Jane, first off, thank you so much. That is so kind of you to say. I would say, my hero is all of the people who work for Shriners. They are doing great things for all of the patients, all of the families, and since I have most recently of gotten to volunteer at Shriners as an adult, I've gotten to see their work in action, and how much it has an impact on our community. So, thank you to everyone who works at Shriners.
