James Heuga

Diagnoses

Personal

Vocation

Notable

American athlete, an Olympic medalist in Alpine skiing, he was later diagnosed with mulitple sclerosis. His dad was a ski lift operator in Squaw Valley and young Jim grew up on skis. At the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, he made history when he and Billy Kidd were the first two Americans to win medals in the event. He took the bronze while Kidd won the silver.By 1968 he had begun having problems with vision and numbness in his extremities but made the Olympic team nonetheless. He failed to take a medal that year. Two years later, in 1970, he was diagnosed with MS.Contrary to his doctor's opinion, he maintained a steady exercise regime, bicycling, swimming and skiing.In 1984 he founded the Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis to promote alternative lfiestyles for those with the neurological autoimmune disease. At the center which now educates over 10,000 people a year, those with MS learn how diet, exercise and positive outlook can stave off and/or postpone the worst effects of the disease. Married and divorced twice, he had a daughter with his first wife and three sons with his second wife. Eventually Heuga was confined to a wheelchair and an assisted living facility. Forty-six years to the day after he won his medal, he diedon February 8, 2010 in Boulder, CO. The cause was pneumonia and respiratory problems.