Veterans Stories - Closing Ceremonies, Until next year…

April 15, 2022

Closing Ceremonies, Until next year…

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Veterans Stories - Adaptive sports clinic helps veterans find their spirit after combat

April 10, 2022

Adaptive sports clinic helps veterans find their spirit after combat

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https://www.denver7.com/news/national/adaptive-sports-clinic-helps-veterans-find-their-spirit-after-combat

ASPEN, Colo. — When you think of Aspen, you probably think of ritz and glitz. But once a year, the VA goes there to show wounded vets the latest and greatest in adaptive sports technology.

“We have TBI, we have visually impaired, we have quadriplegic, paraplegics, every disability you could probably imagine,” said Michele Furlough, a VA recreational therapist.

Welcome to the Adaptive Sports Clinic. For some that work at the VA, this one-day event is the highlight of their year.

“It’s a place where you become very appreciative of what you have, and you don’t take things [for] granted like a lot of people do,” said Teresa Parks, the director of the VA Winter Sports Clinic.

Others are visiting for the first time. “I’m Ryan Garza, born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. United States Marine Corps did four tours in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. That fourth tour, that’s when I got hit.” Garza’s truck drove over an IED.

“I was a passenger in a seven-ton truck, and we ran over an IED, and it blew up directly underneath me,” he said, “I was knocked out very briefly, and then I was just taking all the sand out of my eyes, and my mouth and my nose because it was just covered.”

Doctors tried for months to save his leg. Eventually, he was the one to make the choice.

“Turned into a bad alcoholic just trying to save my leg, and then it got to the point where I just said, I got to get it amputated. They let me pick the day, so I got it amputated on Friday the 13th,” said Garza.

A sense of humor might be the best medicine.

Here at the clinic, Garza is learning how he can do things he used to be able to do with two legs. “I just never thought, I never thought I’d be able to snowboard,” he said, “You feel the wind and you hear the ice, oh man, it gets me excited. It’s an awesome feeling.”

There are less than 100 wounded vets at this clinic, a small fraction of the 2.2 million currently living in the U.S.

This group wants their fellow wounded vets to know about the opportunities that are out there. “You hear that from the veterans too. I got injured, but it was just my job,” said Chris Werahane, the mountain safety manager for the clinic.

“Yes, I realize that we’ve changed this person’s life, we’ve changed this families life and yes you feel good about it, but where’s the next person I can change,” said Werhane.

It’s hard to imagine, but this group of vets includes some of the most optimistic people you’ve ever met.

“You know, losing my leg was saved my life, believe it or not. That’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said.

You just can’t find optimism like that.

Veterans Stories - Race Day!

April 7, 2022

Race Day!

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This segment didn’t make the closing video but will be added to the DVD’s. Enjoy!!

Veterans Stories - Message from the Mountain

April 5, 2022

Message from the Mountain

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Mr. Ralph Gigliotti, director, VA Rocky Mountain Network (VISN 19), shares a few thoughts about the 2022 National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic. The event, co-hosted by VA and DAV, provides profoundly disabled Veterans with training and rehabilitation in adaptive sports every year in Snowmass, CO.

Veterans Stories - DAV Freedom Award and Closing Video

April 1, 2022

DAV Freedom Award and Closing Video

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Veterans Stories - Army Veteran aims for ‘peak’ performance

Army Veteran aims for ‘peak’ performance

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Brian Archer knows life isn’t always about taking—or even choosing—the easy path, but rather making the best of the one you’re on.

In 1985, he enlisted in the Air National Guard as a weather specialist. After several years, he had set his sights on a military commission, and joined the Army National Guard to become an infantry officer in 2002.

Archer deployed for 18 months as part of the Kosovo Forces (KFOR) international peacekeeping mission, and in support of Hurricane Katrina’s recovery in 2005. He went through the Army’s mountaineering training, and spent time in Europe skiing in the Alps and Zugspitze, the highest range in Germany, honing his skills at peak level.

But in 2016, he had a severe multiple sclerosis flare and lost all feeling in his legs from the knees down. He began experiencing cognitive issues, vision problems and muscle weakness. By the time he left the hospital, Archer was in a wheelchair and faced the daunting challenge of having to relearn how to walk.

“I went from wheelchair to a walker, to a cane that I still use,” Archer said. He also now uses a special electronic brace to help activate the muscles in his weaker leg to keep the muscles from atrophying.

But Archer has also set his sights on something higher.

“I realized that back before MS I was an expert skier, but with this body, the way it works, I’m a beginner again,” he said. “So I’ve been relearning all of those steps.”

The lifelong skier, and first-time participant at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, began his journey back to the mountains using a snow slider—a type of walker on skis—and progressed to outriggers, tethers and eventually independent skiing.

“I’m not an expert skier yet, but I can see it,” Archer said. “I can see it coming if I keep working at it. It just does a lot for me to be able to advance my abilities with my current body. To be closer to what I used to be, it’s a really big morale boost.”

“It’s up to you to make the life you want to have,” said Archer. “You can sit there and be miserable or you can try and see how to make it better for yourself. That doesn’t change just because you’ve got a disability.”