After a tragic mishap this past winter left Aidan Love permanently bound to a wheelchair, friends and family have sent the message that though life may have changed, they'll still be there for him. 

The last seven weeks have been some of the hardest of his life. 

On Feb. 12, the 19-year-old second-year student at the University of Victoria was skiing at Whistler when he collided with a tree. The incident left him paralyzed from the chest down. 

"It was a fairly innocent run,” Bonnie Love, his mother, told the Star last week. "It was the first of the day, down an easy slope. It just went wrong.”

Since the accident, Aidan has been in recovery at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver. 

"He's making an excellent recovery,” said Bonnie. "Everyone is so impressed, he is so determined, so positive, he's looking forward to starting his new life.”

Aidan grew up in Porter Creek in a home with two brothers. He attended Porter Creek Secondary School before heading to university.

He has been an athlete his whole life, as a hockey player during his youth, an active skier and snowboarder and later on as an accomplished volleyball player, having represented the Yukon at the 2009 Canada Games in Charlottetown. 

"He's one of those kids, that everything they pick up they are good at,” said his mom.

Adjusting to a new life with greatly diminished mobility, has been a challenge, but his bravery has not gone unrecognized. 

Last month, Aidan was honoured by friends, family and a crowd of more than 1,000 at the Panorama Recreation Centre in Sidney, B.C.

Aidan attended the game at the request of life-long friends Joe Densmore and David Stephens, all of whom played Whitehorse Mustangs hockey together.

Densmore and Stephens now play junior hockey for the Vancouver Island Peninsula Panthers and were set to play the Victoria Cougars. 

"The team had been the underdogs, and this was their last possible opportunity to get into the playoffs,” said Bonnie.

"Aidan had said that if they made it, he would come to the game and they dedicated it to him.”

They did, and Aidan lived up to his word. 

When he arrived, Aidan was introduced as part of the starting lineup, wearing the jersey of another friend and former Panther, Evan Campbell.

He even got a surprise visit from Canucks anthem singer Mark Donnelly, who skated on ice to sing the national anthem in Aidan's honour.

"With all the time and energy it takes to get him out of the building and to the arena, it was amazing to see him so recognized,” said Bonnie. "It was an incredible feeling.”

Back in Vancouver, Aidan is once again surrounded by family, and is making the slow process toward recovery. 

He is currently shopping for a new wheelchair and is already helping others who are in a similar place. 

"He's an amazing help on the floor,” said Bonnie.

"He has been helping other people who are going through therapy and helping out his roommate a lot as well.”

The family plans to return to Whitehorse in June.

One adjustment will be the family's new home, an easier space for Aidan to navigate in his wheelchair.

"We are looking at Whitehorse as a whole new phase in this story,” said Bonnie. "That's the future, and we are just figuring out how it is all going to work out.”

She's confident that the community will continue its support for her son.

"We've learned a lot about the power of a team,” said Bonnie. "Friends, our community, the professional team who have helped Aidan in his recovery, all those people are on our team.”

The most supportive of all, she said, have been his friends. 

"He's got a totally amazing group of friends,” said his mother. "They were there through his injury and through all the critical times. They were completely together through this.”