Thaw

A proud, gifted young man learns to overcome abuse. Dane is a thousand miles south of his home in northern New York. It's not the warm winter that keeps him off his skis, though. Not even creepy Isaac, who wanders by in Mardi Gras beads and a top hat, could block Dane from a Nordic race.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is the culprit, a paralyzing disease that has committed the high-school senior to a hospital bed indefinitely. Sent to one of the country's best neurological rehabilitation facilities, the academic and athletic wunderkind balks at the thought of physical therapy. He's listened to the doctors and knows that 75 percent of all GBS patients eventually make a full recovery. With those odds and his own talent in mind, Dane repeatedly turns away the stubborn therapist who frequents his room.

Days in bed pass and Dane recalls both his former prowess and his disdain for the people in his life. Physical recovery is painfully slow, though, and it becomes clear that Dane may not fully regain the use of his body, that he may become one of the losers he abhors. As this threat grows more immediate, either Dane's icy mind will crack, or the young man will learn to thaw.