Rivka Shotkin shares the choices she’s made to build a beautiful life — not in spite of her challenges, but because of them

It is specifically during the darkest time of the year that we light the Chanukah licht. They dispel the darkness. These lights have the power to lift us out of our despair and to remind us Who’s running the show. Maybe we get a little distracted with our daily challenges, and we forget about all His kindnesses. But Chanukah is here to remind us: A great miracle happened there. And it can happen again.

Meet a teen who experienced her own miracle, never gave in to despair or darkness, and opened her mind and heart to allow Hashem to guide her and help her through a tremendously trying time.

After a devastating skiing accident, 16-year-old Rivka Shotkin was left paralyzed from the chest down. Rivka shares the choices she’s made to build a beautiful life — not in spite of her challenges, but because of them.

The Accident

January 31, 2021

That was the day that my life changed for ever.

During midwinter break, my family went on a skiing trip to Tannersville, NY. It began with a beautiful Shabbos followed by a full day of skiing on Sunday. It was my fourth time skiing. I had done this before, and I was a decent skier. I wasn’t afraid; I assumed that the worst thing that could happen to someone while skiing was a fall and perhaps a few scratches or a broken bone.

I had a nice time with my family that day. At the end of the day, everyone else was ready to go home, but I wanted to go down the mountain one more time. My family waited for me. I skied down most of the mountain until I reached a detour. I was supposed to make a 90 degree turn onto a different trail, but I didn’t make the turn, and instead I went straight into a tree. I was going about 50-60 miles per hour when I hit the tree. That’s really fast.

Memories of the impact are fuzzy, but I do remember the moments afterward. I lay halfway in the tree as I tried yelling for help. My lungs were punctured, so it was hard for me to make noise. And it was impossible for me to move.

Someone must have seen me stuck in the tree and called for help. It felt like forever until the EMTs came rushing over to rescue me. I was hanging over a tree branch when they arrived. They rolled me out of the tree and brought me down to the first aid station. My body was in shock, so I didn’t even feel much pain. I didn’t realize how badly I was hurt.

I could hear what the EMTs were saying, but I didn’t understand everything. There was one phrase that I did understand, and I kept hearing it again and again: “Time is of the essence.”

Those words were the last thing I heard until I woke up nine days later in the ICU.

I had been airlifted to Albany Medical Center, a hospital that was fairly close by with a good trauma center.

Due to Covid restrictions, I was taken by myself into the helicopter. But being alone didn’t bother me because I wasn’t conscious by then. I was intubated because my lungs were filling up with blood, and my oxygen levels were dropping. As soon as we arrived at the hospital, I was rushed inside so the medical team could assess the damage.