BUFFALO, N.Y. - Since Sled Hockey was introduced in the Winter Paralympic Games in 1994, Team USA has taken home three gold medals -- two more than any other country. Lancaster native Adam Page has been a part of that dominance for nearly a decade, helping the Americans win gold medals in 2010 (Vancouver) and 2014 (Sochi).

"It just shows a lot of the hard work that all of the guys put in," he says. "And how hard we train to stay in top shape for that long. It's a tremendous testament to our team."

Page was born with spina bifida, a malformation of the spinal cord that rendered him unable to walk without crutches or a wheelchair. Norm, his father, was told that Adam would have been lucky to survive infancy.

"We didn't even know if he was going to live," says Norm. "It was tough. They told us he would probably be blind. He'd have cognitive issues, he'd never walk. Worst-case scenarios. You see where he is today, and that's what this is all about."

Adam trudged through 12 surgeries and maintained an active childhood -- he says he played baseball, rode horseback, and even participated in karate.

"I just looked at myself as a regular kid," he says. "At 6-7 years old, I was doing those things that a 6, 7-year-old boy would be doing. I wasn't different. I was like everybody else."

Adam is one of just four American sled hockey players to be named to the team in 2010, 2014, and 2018. Norm says it's an incredible feeling to hear that his son is a paralympian. Even though he's heard the announcement two other times, it's not a feeling that's gotten old.

"Each one is its own separate experience. Again, he's been on the team 11 years," he says. "To think he's had the opportunity, and having a third? I know Adam feels the same way. He really wants to soak this one up and enjoy every minute of it."

"It never gets old," says Adam. "Being able to represent your country and being able to put on that jersey is something special. Getting that call is always a special moment."