TIME WELL SPENT

INVOLVED IN MANY ACTIVITIES, SMART HOME RECIPIENT MAKES THE MOST OF HER DAY

With great time-management skills, a keen military discipline and a desire to share her knowledge and experiences with others, Sgt. Christy Gardner illustrates how much you can accomplish in a given day.

Whether it’s excelling with her sled hockey teams, achieving world-class results in track and field, administering programs to help other adaptive athletes, or providing service or therapy dogs, Gardner — who lost both her legs in a peacekeeping mission in 2006 — balances a lot of projects. This makes it important for her to have an open, easily accessible home as a welcome respite from her busy schedule.

This idea was realized last year when Gardner received the keys to her new Smart Home in Oxford, Maine, from the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which provides mortgage-free homes to veterans who experience catastrophic injuries. (GMC has worked with Tunnel to Towers for more than a decade.)

The always-busy Gardner admits having never heard of the organization, and almost hung up in disbelief when a representative called with the offer. “I remember thinking, ‘Who gives away a home?’” she recalls. “But the person explained the organization was following my various activities, and thought I was a good candidate.”

NEW GOALS

After a long rehab period from her injuries, Gardner turned to her athletic past to begin the next stage of her life. After trying adaptive skiing and snowboarding, she was drawn to sled hockey, which reflected elements of both field hockey and lacrosse — sports that she starred in at high school and college.

“I liked the team-unity aspect of it, that it is highly competitive and aggressive in nature,” she says. “I attended a clinic one day and, although I struggled with it, I enjoyed the challenge.” She spent the next six months working on her skills, building strength in her core and arms, and learning the various rules of ice hockey. The efforts paid off, as she eventually made the U.S. women’s sled hockey team. Gardner has now been with them for 11 years and serves as an assistant captain. She has watched the sport grow as more countries form teams and fan bases increase.

To build interest in her area of the country, she helped establish the New England Warriors, a coed sled hockey team of severely injured veterans that plays games against other units in neighboring states. Gardner is also the disabled hockey rep for the state of Maine, overseeing efforts on behalf of deaf and blind players as well as sledhockey participants.

Ice is not the only surface that Gardner flourishes on: She’s had considerable success as a track-and-field athlete in the events of shot put and discus: In fact, she’s currently ranked fifth and 11th in the world, respectively. To help disabled youngsters get the same opportunities to flourish athletically, Gardner currently serves as president of the Central Maine Adaptive Sports nonprofit organization. The organization offers year-round instruction in skiing, snowboarding, sled hockey, track and field, cycling and kayaking.

A DOG’S LIFE
Even with enough athletic endeavors to last a lifetime, Gardner had a more personal project that she wanted to pursue. She established Mission Working Dogs to provide service or therapy canines to those with physical mobility or PTSD issues. As someone with two service dogs — Moxie, now retired, and Doug, her current companion — Gardner appreciates the crucial role they play in enhancing a person’s life.

“I worked for a breeder and got to learn dogs’ temperaments and how they bond with people,” she says. To strengthen her organization, Gardner is working on adding services for autistic people and fundraising for the construction of a new training facility for the lengthy process involved in preparing canines for duty.

With days that can start at 6 a.m. and end at 10 p.m., Gardner is appreciative to have her Smart Home in which to comfortably reside. “My previous home was three stories, and it was very difficult to do laundry or get through doorways,” she says. “Now, everything is on one level, it is wheelchair-accessible, and I can easily get to the front and backyard with the dogs. I am really appreciating the impact that a home such as this can have on my life.”

For more information about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, visit: Tunnel2towers.org/GMC.