In the summer of 2025, Southern Ute tribal elder, Clement Frost suffered various injuries following a car accident – now on the journey to recovery and regaining his independence, Frost can be seen each week at SunUte Community Center completing his physical therapy. Working with Fitness Trainer, Eliyah Lucero, Frost has a customized plan geared to strengthening various muscle groups that will help restore mobility. With a positive outlook and with the support of the SunUte staff, Frost is back to walking again despite all odds.
Clement J. Frost, a former Tribal Chairman, has always considered himself an active and independent person, growing up playing multiple sports including basketball and softball, and more recently tending to his farm. Following the accident, he began to fall into a depression as many of his daily activities became nonexistent. For three months, Frost was bedridden suffering from a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and multiple spinal injuries. From home physical therapy stretches, to using a walker, and now using a cane for assistance, Frost kept a positive attitude throughout this journey using the strength of the support he was receiving from his family and community.
“I’m not going to let my age or my injuries hold me down, I can do it – I was eventually using a walker, but I didn’t like using it that much, so my son then set my physical therapy up at SunUte,” Frost said. “I came to [SunUte] and met Eliyah [Lucero] and we started to work on getting my balance back, one of our biggest goals was to get out and walk without the walker. So as I worked with her, I kept positive and kept saying in my mind ‘don’t let the age or the injury hold you down.’”
“Just because you’re dealing with an injury, doesn’t mean you have to stay in that position – with all the prayers from my family and the community, that gave me the strength and helped me to get to where I’m at now,” Frost said. “The staff [at SunUte] are all so positive, and with the help of Eliyah it became really enjoyable to be at the facility and do my therapy.”
“Since the beginning, Eliyah has always had a great attitude and personality, she makes the experience enjoyable – she greets me every day and it makes me ready to come in and do my exercises. Eliyah’s positivity has been a part of my growing stronger. She always listens to me and lifts me up, and I know that I can trust her with how I am feeling,” Frost said. “All I got to do is continue to put my mind to it, work hard, use the facility, and keep working with my trainer.”
Lucero is a Fitness Trainer at SunUte Community Center, she has a passion for both fitness and assisting elders. Since January of this year, Lucero has worked with Frost to help him regain his strength and has immense pride in Frost for all his achievements thus far. “No matter what, Clement is so consistent, I know he will be here at 1p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday even on days when his muscles feel tired, he still does his workout with a positive attitude,” Lucero said. “I really enjoy working with Clement and he has made so much progress, and I am so proud – working together, he always encourages me and tells me I am good at what I do which is so reassuring to me, soon he will be walking around SunUte without his cane.”
Every week, Frost visits SunUte Community Center to complete his leg days and upper body days. At the start, Frost was using only the bike machine and an upper body machine but has transitioned into adding new warmups and exercises including walking on the treadmill and training for incline and decline. Frost is living proof that the mind is a powerful tool, and you can do anything you set your mind to.
“It’s been a hard experience and now I walk with a cane, but plan to hang [the cane] up very soon. We got some ways to go but that is Eliyah’s and I’s goal,” Frost said. “I’m getting back to the way I used to be.”