Getting back on board

Alicia Robinson

Phil Carter and his son, Braden, learned to walk at the same time

last year. As the toddler took his first steps, his father was

mastering the skill for a second time.

Carter had to learn to walk all over again after a rare illness

caused by an adverse reaction to a flu shot two years ago left him

paralyzed and in a coma.

An avid skier and snowboarder who owns a Costa Mesa ski shop,

Carter, 44, is now almost fully rehabilitated and working in his shop

again. He is still working toward getting full dexterity in his

hands, but doctors expect a complete recovery.

A former professional motorcycle racer who loves the adrenaline

rush of extreme sports, Carter bought the ski business from its

former owners about 20 years ago and later relocated the shop to

McClintock Way just off Baker Street.

In November 2002, Carter was preparing for ski season and decided

to get a flu shot. Shortly after that he began to feel tingling and

numbness in his feet, but he thought maybe he’d pinched a nerve.

Within a few days he could hardly walk.

“My legs were getting all rubbery, and I just made it home and

went to bed thinking, ‘I’ll go see the doctor,’” he said. “The next

morning I could just move my arms.”

Doctors said he had Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder that comes

from nerve inflammation and involves muscle weakness or paralysis.

The cause of the disease is unknown, but it can follow a viral or

bacterial infection, as from an inoculation. Many patients recover on

their own.

Carter was in a coma for about 3 1/2 months. When he awoke, he

was still partially paralyzed. As he began to improve, he started

physical therapy. He was getting around in a wheelchair and

eventually using a walker.

While Carter was ill, friends kept the ski shop afloat. Members of

The Crossing church in Costa Mesa, where Carter has been an active

member, visited him, prayed for him and donated money to help him and

his family.

Some of the help came from lucky coincidences.

“Before Phil got sick, I had just lost my job because of the

dot-com crash,” said Scott Graham, a longtime friend and neighbor of

Carter’s who ran the shop through the last two winter seasons.

“Basically I was his arms and legs last year.”

Friends didn’t want to see Carter lose his business, and customers

were supportive because the shop is independently owned and gives

them personal attention, Graham said.

“[Phil has] helped out people in need, either giving them jobs or

things of that nature,” he said. “A lot of people didn’t want to see

the last bastion of the local ski shop disappear around here.”

Jeff Van Tassel worked with Carter for 15 years as a sales

representative and service technician for ski and snowboard

companies. For the last two winters he worked other day jobs, then

came in to work evenings and weekends at Carter’s store for free.

“Phil’s a friend and a great guy,” Van Tassel said. “It was really

important to keep the shop going so there’d be something when he got

out [of the hospital].”

While Carter doesn’t yet have the muscle control to smile or

fasten a button, he is happy about all the things he can do, like

putting his now-2-year-old son into a car seat.

“One thing I’ve really learned through all this is patience,”

Carter said. “Now, if there’s something I have to take my time and do

slow, I don’t get frustrated, whereas I might have before.”

Carter is not as sure-footed as he used to be, but he’s taken his

illness and slow recovery in stride.

He’ll go snowboarding in a few weeks, and he’s already been

skiing.

The adrenaline rush he once got from skiing off 30-foot drops now

comes from being on the beginner hill or just getting on the chair

lift, he said.

“Whatever level you’re at, you’re able to be in the mountains and

have fun,” he said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at

[email protected].