U.S. Army Veteran losing his vision joins a special branch—Veterans with disabilities

By Katie Beall, Newsroom Chief for VISN 19’s Creative Task Force.

Curtis Jemison always considered himself an “A-1 driver.” But then came a string of accidents – a parking lot scrape, a crushed orange cone, a minor fender bender.  However, when Jemison ripped off his driver side mirror, the U.S. Army Veteran had to face a hard truth.

“I just couldn't believe it,” Jemison said. “I was losing my eyesight."

An ophthalmologist at the John D. Dingle VA Clinic in Detroit confirmed the diagnosis: Stargadt disease, a rare form of macular degeneration with no cure.

"You never know what you have until you lose it. I guess I was taking my eyesight for granted.”

A shifting world to navigate

Losing his independence hit hard; he had always loved being behind the wheel, but now his new truck sat idle.

“I was pissed at the world, you know what I mean?” he said. “Why me? So, I was really pissed.” He remembered saying, “Y'all can't do nothing for me. You can't fix my sight. You can't give it back to me. What are you going to do for me? Nothing.”

Jemison’s VA care team encouraged him to get support from the low vision program. He refused. But eventually, one appointment changed everything.

Starting over

At the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center’s low vision clinic, staff showed Jemison a different path. The clinic provides advanced vision care and blind rehabilitation services to help Veterans live independently.

 “They will help you do everything from A to Z. They make you so comfortable,” he said, adding that when they couldn’t do more for him, they offered an alternative, asking if he wanted to go to a blind rehab center.

He said yes.

At the Hines VA Blind Rehabilitation Center outside Chicago, Jemison trained alongside 25 other Veterans who understood his grief and frustration. From 8 to 4, they learned life skills – navigating kitchens, playing puzzles, learning piano and guitar, and other skills like woodworking. He even learned how to walk confidently with a cane. Technology is critical with vision loss and Jemison learned how to adapt an iPhone to remain informed and connected.

Returning home to Detroit he had the tools and confidence – but the loss still stung.  Each day brought new challenges.

“Somebody has to take me here or there,” Jemison said. “Sometimes I feel like, ‘Damn, I'm mad. I'm mad about that.’ Maybe I’ll just sneak in my truck and just go to the store. But I don’t do it.

From Motion to Motivation

Jemison joined VA’s recreation therapy program and his recreational therapist, Maureen, introduced a new goal: The 2025 Winter Sports Clinic. Training began, and alongside fellow Veterans, he joined prep lessons to try adaptive skiing at the Winter Sports Clinic.

Camaraderie at the Winter Sports Clinic

Fourteen months after his diagnosis, Jemison arrived in Snowmass, Colorado, surrounded by more than 350 other Veterans with disabilities.

At lunch, Jemison sits next to his fellow Veterans from across the country, debating which branch is best and share the stories of how they arrived at the mountain.

“It’s just been a blessing to be around so many wonderful personnel and disabled Veterans,” Jemison said. “There are so many wheelchair Veterans here with good attitudes, motivation and character—they encourage me to keep going. Some Winter Sport Clinic Vets are blind. Others have limbs missing.”

From adaptive skiing and scuba diving, rock climbing, curling, flyfishing, yoga and more, the clinic opened up a new world.

“You can feel like you're outside when you lose your eyesight. But when you’re around all these Vets, the camaraderie, the support system that they give us here… I see Veterans of all disabilities participate in these different events and I go, ‘Oh, wow, I know I could do this then.’ They give me that motivation. Everybody here recognizes everybody in a good way. It's nothing but respect and love.”

At the Winter Sports Clinic, he will try scuba diving, curling and skiing. He traveled in a gondola to take in the sites above Aspen.

“The snow caps of Colorado went way up 11,000 feet. It was so amazing that we made snow angels up there. It was just beautiful.”

Jemison said he talked to a Veteran who had been attending the clinic for 20 years, telling him it was “his medication.”  “At one time, I thought I would do nothing else in life but just sit on the couch. This is a whole lot more than just sitting on the couch!”

Looking Ahead

Only three days into his first Winter Sports Clinic, Jemison is already talking about next year.

Just like back home in Detroit, he navigates with his cane. No one knows when his sight will be fully gone, but his outlook has changed.

“I am still pissed, but now I'm pissed in a good way,” he said. "I turn that negative energy into positive, and I go to the VA, talk to the counselors and go to the gym. I can participate with other Veterans and VA employees. I hear their stories about life and it really encourages me.”

He is determined to return to Snowmass for the 2026 Winter Sports Clinic.

“We are a special branch of people—disabled Veterans. If you are disabled, don't think you can't do it, because you can,” he said. “I'll be back again next year on the 40th. This is a great program, and I see why they’ve had it for 39 years.”