March 31, 2022

From Sun to Snow

Snowboarding down a mountainside is not typically where you’ll find Army Veteran Frances Osorio Rivera. Many days she’s in the water off the coast of Miami giving kiteboarding lessons to students or catching air herself.

Kiteboarding has been a part of her life for more than 15 years since first seeing it as a child growing up in Puerto Rico. But a car accident while on active duty in 2011 almost ended her pursuit of her passion. Because of the accident, doctors had to amputate her left leg below the knee.

Rivera said the journey of adjusting to the loss of her leg hasn’t been easy, and that she has found recovery to be frustrating at times to the point of wanting to give up.

“It’s something I take day by day,” said Rivera.

Where she found the most comfort and healing was through working out and being in nature. That’s what led her back to kiteboarding, despite having to relearn and adapt to riding with a prosthetic.

Learning to adapt is also what drew Rivera to the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic. As proficient as she is on the water, she said she found the process of trying something out of her comfort zone, failing and then starting to see progress to be important to her mental health.

“It ignites that sense of independence and gives you a drive to keep going,” said Rivera.

This is her second time attending the event. She first attended in 2019.

Rivera said she is most looking forward to catching up with teammates who came to the clinic three years ago. She recalled how good of a feeling it was to be in the village and on the mountainside with all the volunteers and participants feeding off the same energy during the week.

Rivera’s advice for first-time participants is simple: “Put yourself out there,” she said. “Interact with as many people as possible. Be open to the miracles that happen on the mountainside.”

Rivera takes experiences like the winter sports clinic and her time on the water kiteboarding and applies them to helping others. She works with several nonprofits to teach disabled Veterans adaptive sports.

“It took me nearly a decade to be at peace with myself,” said Rivera. “What better way to pay it forward than to show others from my experience and help out wherever I can.”

Nothing is stronger than the heart of a volunteer

The National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic has established itself as the world leader in adaptive winter sports programs for injured Veterans. But more than three decades of success would not be possible without the engine that makes it all go—the dedicated and selfless volunteer instructors, coaches and equipment fabricators.

At the clinic and throughout the rest of the year, DAV has numerous volunteer opportunities that enable interested individuals to continue giving back to the men and women who served.

DAV’s largest volunteer initiatives involve transporting Veterans to medical appointments and augmenting care and service in VA medical facilities, community living centers and clinics.

Volunteer duties are limitless, ranging from simply being a buddy to a Veteran during recovery or therapy to other more technical and professional opportunities. While the COVID-19 pandemic hindered volunteer efforts, in 2021 DAV volunteers still made significant contributions of their time to assist veterans through the VA Voluntary Service Program, the DAV Transportation Network and the DAV Local Veterans Assistance Program (LVAP).

In 2007, DAV created the LVAP for individuals who are interested in volunteering but do not live close enough to a VA medical center or who have special skills or talents they want to put to use helping our heroes. This program empowers volunteers to serve where they live and still receive the same incentive awards as those under the well-known VA Voluntary Service Program. From July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, LVAP volunteers performed buddy checks, delivered groceries and provided help to our nation’s heroes in a variety of ways. Overall, they donated nearly 1 million hours of service—and did this all while maintaining safe distance—to ensure that no veteran in need of help was left behind.

The options for volunteers under LVAP to provide direct assistance to Veterans and their families are virtually limitless. Volunteers can take on any task that might improve a Veteran’s life. In 2018, LVAP reached unprecedented heights, with volunteers dedicating more than 2 million hours in a variety of ways.

Since 1987, the nationwide DAV Transportation Network has provided rides to and from VA medical centers at no cost to Veterans. This unique program ensures Veterans, who may otherwise not be able to make their appointments, receive critical medical care. In fiscal year 2021, volunteers logged almost 8 million miles and provided more than 163,000 rides to VA health care facilities, saving taxpayers more than $14.5 million. Since DAV’s national transportation program began, more than 19 million Veterans have been transported over 730 million miles.

“Knowledge is power, and it’s our responsibility to make sure our volunteers, potential volunteers and participants here at the clinic are well aware of the many ways for us all to give back,” said DAV National Voluntary Services Director John Kleindienst. “Whether you can volunteer just an hour of your time or an entire day, it has a resounding impact on the life of the Veteran. Don’t think that just a short amount of time cannot make a huge difference. The need is too important.”

Year after year at this clinic, and on a daily basis across the country, you can see how crucial volunteer services are within the Veteran community. Visit VolunteerforVeterans.org to create a profile, volunteer with DAV or help connect volunteers with opportunities in your area.

Afghanistan to Aspen, USMC Veteran continues to push boundaries

ASPEN-SNOWMASS, COLORADO – A fourth tour in Afghanistan would change his life forever. The unthinkable happened fast for twenty-five-year-old Marine Corps Veteran Ryan Garza. In 2011, an IED blast rocked the seven-ton truck he was riding in badly injuring his leg.

He spent more than a year at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, receiving treatment for his shattered leg and traumatic brain injury.

As the years went by Garza’s medical team worked to save the limb however, by 2015 Garza and his doctors knew he would be better off without it. Garza made the agonizing decision to amputate and even selected the date of surgery – Friday the 13th.

“What better day to have your leg cut off,” Garza joked. “I was very anxious before the surgery, but I realized that pain had been destroying my life and I was becoming a violent dude and a bad alcoholic. Once I picked the date, I started pushing forward.”

Just five months later, Garza was climbing a 14,000-foot mountain in Colorado with No Barriers USA. But despite his resolve to bounce back, there was more pain to come.

“In 2016, I witnessed one of my Marine buddies take his life and I took it hard,” Garza said. “The biggest thing that was holding me down was the guilt.”

It was a Thanksgiving holiday that Garza set something in motion that, he says, saved his life. “I decided to give some food to the homeless and I felt a weight lift off me. That year I made more than 100 plates and passed them out. Seeing hope in their eyes, giving back…that was my way to give back to myself.”

From that moment, Garza was determined to help other Veterans who may be experiencing trauma. Today, he is finishing up a book, “Disturbed Earth, My Journey from Guilt to Forgiveness,” which he hopes to publish this year on October 3, what he calls his “stay alive” day.

“That’s the day that you should have died, but you are still here,” he said.

Garza, who receives his care at the PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom VA Clinic in Colorado Springs, CO, continues to push his mental and athletic boundaries. Being at this year’s National Disabled Veteran’s Winter Sports Clinic in Aspen-Snowmass, Colorado, was another step toward regaining his life and he is thrilled to be snowboarding.

“I never did winter sports and always wanted to snowboard,” he said. And his first day on the mountain did not disappoint as he quickly conquered the beginner slopes and moved on to the intermediate blue terrain.

“It was absolutely amazing,” Garza raved. “I’ve been nailing the blues without falling. I went from bunny hills in January to the blues today.”

Garza isn’t ruling out black diamonds in his future because he doesn’t put limitations on himself and, as a motivational speaker, he asks the same of his audiences. “What is your summit?” he asks, before challenging them to “do the one thing they think they can’t.”

The 36th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, a world-leader in adaptive winter sports instruction co-hosted by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is being held in Snowmass, Colorado through April 1. For more information, contact Jason Strickland ([email protected]; 303.619.1145) or Donna Bell ([email protected] or 518.207.5787).

March 30, 2022

Thank A Sponsor

The National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic is host to disabled Veterans, caregivers and supporters who have made the trek to Snowmass Village, Colo., to be a part of an experience so great it’s deemed “Miracles on the Mountainside.”

Veterans from all generations and all eras come to this extraordinary event each year and learn a little about themselves and their capabilities. Some will accomplish things they never imagined, and some will do things they were told were impossible. But all will take advantage of the opportunity to prove that a person’s disabilities do not define them.

The clinic has been the place where miracles happen for more than three decades now, but none of that would be possible without the generosity and support of our exemplary sponsors. They deserve our appreciation and an understanding of the impact they have in the lives of our participants. These individuals, nonprofits and companies recognize the bravery you displayed while serving our country and help ensure the clinic can continue year after year.

When you see a representative from one the sponsors listed below, please take a little time to thank them and tell them how much this clinic means to you. Thank you.

Volunteers, instructors learn about new adaptive ski equipment

Before Veterans hit the slopes at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic (NDVWSC) in Snowmass, Colorado, behind the scenes, staff, volunteers and instructors prepare for the participants’ first runs on the mountain. Co-hosted by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the clinic is celebrating its 36th year as a world-leader in adaptive winter sports instruction.

For 25 of those years, Jeff Inouye, the adaptive ski program director for Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center, in Breckenridge, Colorado, has volunteered his time at the clinic offering his expertise to those working with Veterans. Inouye’s workshop introduces participants to the benefits and limitations of the different types of adaptive ski equipment offers participants insights to the newest adaptive sports apparatus while offering suggestions on use.

“I just want to pass on knowledge,” Inouye said, after answering volunteers’ questions regarding body positioning, appropriate equipment for different levels of injury and types of seating. “I like to address safety and risk concerns, especially for newer instructors who haven’t had the resources to be able to make recommendations.”

Two of the Inouye’s workshop participants, Navy Veteran Tony Cole, and his wife Lynne Cole, have been volunteering at WSC as ski instructors for the past 13 years, saying it was their “favorite week of the year.” The Coles’ also volunteer for Maine Adaptative, a program in their home state.

“We are very grateful to get this information and fascinated by the education about the equipment,” Lynne Cole said.

With injuries ranging from traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, orthopedic amputations and visual impairments, the 130 disabled participating Veterans use a wide range of adaptive equipment. The information Inouye shares assists with rehabilitation and helps to improve function and independence so they can participate in sport and fitness, which often reduces the risk of secondary medical complications.

The event will run through Friday, April 1. For information, go to www.wintersportsclinic.org

‘The same as everybody else’ on the mountain

Army Veteran Tina Lavallee is no stranger to the slopes. She has fond memories of snowboarding and taking her children skiing any chance she could.

But that changed when she was gravely injured after tumbling down a flight of stairs on duty as an Army recruiter. Displays, pamphlets and some Army equipment to show prospective recruits fill her arms, making the fall even more damaging.

“I thought I could carry more stuff at once, and I shouldn’t have,” recalled Lavallee, who served during Operation Desert Storm. “And I just hit my toe on that metal trim on the steps, which caused me to slip.”

With her arms clutched, Lavallee hit her head on the wall and she landed on the final three steps. Her skull fractured, which has caused a lifetime of memory issues and seizures and cracked eight vertebrae in her spine.

The injury also left her partially paralyzed.

“I have no feeling on my left leg whatsoever, and I don’t feel my fingertips on my left hand,” she added.

Lavallee cannot walk but is able to stand with the aid of crutches and braces.

She retired from the Army in 2000 after recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Lavallee thought her time of cutting through halfpipes was over when her daughter-in-law saw an advertisement for the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in a magazine. She decided to take that leap of faith and see what the clinic could offer her and other disabled Veterans.

She said that what she found was life-changing and reinvigorated her passion for winter sports. This is her third year in Snowmass, and she encourages Veterans of all stripes to get off the sidelines and get back to a sense of normalcy.

“I tell people all the time they should try participating in the Winter Sports Clinic because you don’t feel crippled,” she said. “When I’m skiing, I’m the same as everybody else on the mountain.”

“I’m just going down the mountain with the wind in my face and just having a grand old time,” added Lavallee. “And it is so freeing, and you get so much more confidence by being able to do those things.”

Announcing Today’s….

A disability doesn’t define us, it is just a part of us

Welder, plumber, firefighter, damage control professional and self-proclaimed “bedazzler” Gayle-Jayne Allyson, an Army and Coast Guard Veteran, who served from 1987 to 1997 is not only unstoppable, but unmistakable. With her bright red lipstick and sparking green eyes, she is as colorful as her self-jeweled motorized chair, complete with an amputee Wonder Woman bear strapped to the back.

After six years, Allyson is returning to National Disabled Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass, Colorado, for her second time. The first time she participated she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Since then, additional medical issues led to the amputation of her right leg, and then a year later, part of her right hip.

“When I had my amputation two years ago, I thought, ‘I’ll get a prosthetic. I see people doing stuff all the time. I’ll learn how to walk again,’” Allyson said. “But then last year, when they removed my hip, I knew there was no chance of prosthetic. I wondered what was next since I’d be in a wheelchair after I worked so hard to be out of it.”

Allyson, who receives care at the Cleveland VA Medical Center, said it was important for her to come to Winter Sports Clinic (WSC) again as an amputee because events like WSC remind people that “It’s not over yet.” And flying down the mountain in a bi-ski for the first time Monday reminded her that she can still participate in life, just differently.

“A disability doesn’t define us, it is just a part of us. If you set your limits really low, you are not going to do a doggone thing and you’ll close up inside yourself. If I can get to Colorado on a plane and go skiing, I can certainly travel closer to home to do other things I want to do.”

Accompanied by her good friend and caregiver, Lisa Button, Allyson said that she felt “Button” (as she is known to those at the clinic) had also learned from the experience, because she has now seen what other Veterans are capable of doing on their own.

In addition to skiing, Allyson will also participate in snowmobiling and sled hockey, and beyond that she looks forward to supporting others while making connections.

“You have to lift each other up because we miss being with our squad or company,” Allyson added.

The 36th National Disabled Winter Sports Clinic, a world-leader in adaptive winter sports instruction co-hosted by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is being held in Snowmass, Colorado through April 1.

A amputee Wonder Woman bear adorns the motorized wheelchair of 10-year Army and Coast Guard Veteran Gayle-Jayne Allyson.

‘A need for speed’

The ramp leading up to Terry “Scooter” Hayes’ front door isn’t just a necessity. It’s a chance to fly.

“I’m kind of a daredevil,” the Army Veteran and Paralympian said. “So I like to bolt down my ramp.”

Hayes is taking her thirst for adrenaline to the mountains of Snowmass, Colorado, for the 36th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, co-presented by DAV (Disabled American Veterans) and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The annual event—known as “Miracles on a Mountainside”—allows profoundly disabled Veterans to participate in adaptive sports such as skiing, rock climbing and sled hockey.

Naturally, Terry is most looking forward to downhill skiing.

“I have a need for speed,” the lifetime DAV member said.

The snowy landscape will be new to the longtime Florida resident, but Hayes is no stranger to sports. As a kid, she and her sister would play “Olympics” in the backyard, creating a hurdle out of large trash cans and a broom for the high jump. Officially, she played competitive softball.

The daughters of a retired Army master sergeant, Hayes and her sister enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps in 1977. Two years later during a training exercise, Hayes lost her balance and fell, injuring her knee and requiring two surgeries. It was the beginning of a long road that would ultimately lead to a devastating diagnosis.

Hayes was honorably discharged the same year she injured her knee. In the years after, she kept losing her balance and falling. By 2011, she found herself needing to hang onto things just to walk–the kitchen counter, the wall, her wife Freda’s arm.

“I was scared at that point,” Hayes said. “And I said, something is radically wrong, I have to go and find out what the heck is going on here.”

Hayes was later diagnosed with primary cerebellar degeneration, a brain disease that gradually causes permanent paralysis.

“I was determined then that I was going to live my best life possible, no matter what,” Hayes said. “So far that has served me really well, and I’m loving life right now.”

Hayes admits to letting herself sulk for a couple of days after, and again in 2017 when she became paralyzed from the chest down. But Hayes quickly rallied, determined to extract every bit of joy and adventure from life that she can–whether it’s listening to disco music while cleaning or competing in adaptive fencing tournaments.

Hayes started wheelchair fencing when she was 58 years old. By 63, she was competing in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games for Team USA.

“You are never too old to get started into sports,” she said.

Neither age nor physical limitations will stop Hayes from flying down the mountains in Snowmass. Along with the adrenaline rush, she’s looking forward to meeting other disabled Veterans at the first big DAV event she’s been able to attend.

“I enjoy being around people like myself, other people that are in wheelchairs,” Hayes said. “So I’m looking forward to making some new friendships and just having a great time.

“I’m looking forward to the whole thing.”