JILL KINMONT

It has been six months since pretty 19-year-old Jill Kinmont took a bad spill during the Snow Cup ski race at Alta, Utah and broke her back. At the time, doctors doubted she would walk again, but Jill continues to battle gamely against near-total paralysis at St. John's Hospital, Santa Monica, Calif., where she has been confined since the accident. Already she has progressed further than medical men dared hope. Diligently applying herself to the endless special exercises devised for her, Jill has regained partial use of her arms, can feed herself (right), with the aid of a special brace and a "spork," combination spoon and fork. Another brace enables her to write letters (below) to the dozens of well-wishers who correspond with her. Her recovery is still an agonizingly slow process and the battle is far from won, but Jill perseveres in the hope that someday she will don a pair of skis once again.

TWO PHOTOS