Wounded Warriors Experience the Grand Canyon

A group of 16 Wounded Warriors, some only months removed since their injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, ventured down the Colorado River on a 10-day trip led by Sarah Williams, Managing Program Director at Challenge Aspen.

After meeting in Las Vegas, the group traveled to historical Lee’s Ferry, Ariz. Before the Navajo and Glen Canyon Bridges were built in the 20th century, Lee’s Ferry was the only place to cross the Colorado River for 260 miles. Anyplace else along the river, from Moab, Utah, to Laughlin, Nev., the river is sided by steep vertical cliffs and gorges.

For 10 days, the group traveled 226 miles on the Colorado River to Diamond Creek, camping each night along the way. In addition to rafting the river, the group hiked scenic trails and also had plenty of time to play horseshoes, football, swim, and just enjoy the outdoors.

“This 10-day program was undoubtedly the most powerful experience that we have encountered,” Williams said. “Challenge Aspen provides unmatched opportunities for these soldiers to engage in real life, confront physical or emotional obstacles in a unique, yet challenging setting.

The experience was invaluable for all involved – building confidence by adapting and succeeding and ultimately leading to a smoother transition back into civilian life.”

U.S. Army Sgt. Brian Fountaine was injured in Iraq on June 8, 2006. Williams met him at Walter Reed Army Medical Center just 12 days after his injury where he learned about the trip. Not even three months after being injured, Brian was a key member of the team and experienced the Grand Canyon!

“I had a very exciting and humbling experience. I never would have imagined going down the Grand Canyon without my feet,” he said.

Fountaine wrote to Challenge Aspen. “Thank you for allowing me to make new friendships, meet new, interesting people, and live a dream I never thought was possible. Until next time!”

Fountaine is already making plans to snowboard with Challenge Aspen this forthcoming winter season and has goals to be rock-climbing next summer.

U.S. Army Sgt. Joey Bozik, who lost three limbs in Iraq, was the recipient of the Challenge Aspen Inspiration Award at this year’s Disabled American Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Village, Colo. This award entitled Bozik to participate in the Grand Canyon Adventure.

“I had so much fun on the Grand Canyon,” he said. “What (Challenge Aspen) does for injured soldiers is absolutely amazing and by far the best experience that my wife and I have had. I especially like the fact that you guys surround the event with other equally challenging and fun things.”

“This trip came at the perfect time for us, with me getting out of the hospital, moving across country, and starting a new career. It gave me the opportunity to relax. I was able to let go of things that had been weighing me down and just enjoy the nature that was surrounding me. You may never know how much you have helped me, but I will always carry your gracious love for soldiers with me.”

Kristi A. Say, OTR/L, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, accompanied the group on the trip. “There is only so much that we can do in a hospital or clinical setting. All of the work that they have been doing in physical and occupational therapy is truly tested out there in the ‘real world.’ Programs like Challenge Aspen are incredibly beneficial for our men and women.”

“It was absolutely amazing, from a therapist’s perspective, to see how far they have come and how much they accomplished. They transitioned from a hospital bed to the wild rapids of the Grand Canyon,” she said.

The Grand Canyon trip was only one of the events Challenge Aspen offered in 2006. More than 40 Wounded Warriors participated in the Aspen Wilderness Experience that included white-water rafting and rock climbing.

Wounded Warriors Enjoyed a Gorge-ous Weekend in  Western New York State

Cape Ability Outrigger Ohana hosted Wounded Warriors from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Brooke Army Medical Center, and Balboa Naval Medical Center, and their guests on a mid-September weekend. It began with a trip to Niagara Falls State Park and a red carpet tour of the park aboard a Scenic Trolley, which was escorted by the New York State Police. Park directors accompanied the group and expedited entry to the Maid of the Mist boat tour and Cave of the Winds for magnificent views of Niagara Falls and Niagara Gorge.

Delaware North hosted a dinner buffet in the patio room at Top of the Falls restaurant that overlooks Horseshoe Falls. Buffalo Bills’ football legends Lou Piccone, Mark Brammer, and Wayne Patrick attended the dinner along with Niagara Falls Mayor Vince Anello, DS/USA board member Steve Goodwin, and CAOO president Jan Whitaker.

A new prosthetic arm that is designed and built especially for kayaking and an impressive demonstration by an above-the-elbow amputee have inspired a group of amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical center to get involved in the sport.

Willie Stewart, who lost his arm when he was 18, recently showed a group of veterans and kayakers at Walter Reed how the special kayaking arm works. The next day, he was out on the Potomac River displaying his skills with Team River Runner.

Five arm amputees observed Stewart and one was even brave enough to go in the pool with him. Members of the club were impressed not only with Stewart’s background (he had been planning a 20-day group kayaking trip down the Colorado River) but also with how easy he made the use of the arm look. His demonstration had such an impact that everyone who saw him paddle at Walter Reed had to try it themselves.

While Team River Runner routinely has expert kayaking amputees give demonstrations, Stewart is one of the few who is also an arm amputee. Joe Mornini, founder of Team River Runner, noted that, “It’s very encouraging for possible participants to see someone with the same disability as them practice the sport. It helps in getting them over that hump. They watch experts in the sport that have the same disability as they have and they go from being on the fence about trying it, to not being able to stop doing it.”

The arm designed by Michael Davidson, a certified prosthetist-orthotist and clinical manager at Loma Linda University Medical Center, was built with the intention of doing very specific things. “It’s needed to do things like steer and propel and make the kayak go,” Davidson said. “It’s critical, should the kayaker flip over, or be upside-down. He needs two arms to be able to get back upright so he doesn’t drown.”

Disabled Sports USA Far West hosted the 2nd Annual “Their Spirit Inspires” event July 30-August 3 in Sacramento, honoring five soldiers who were injured in the Iraq war. The soldiers learned how to golf, water ski, and white-water raft. New this year was the Celebrity Wheelchair Baseball Game, which took place at River Cats Independence Field, a fully accessible baseball field where the honorees played with the Sacramento City Council, the fire chief, and Sacramento’s Mayor Heather Fargo. The week was capped off with a luncheon and a Sacramento River Cats game where each soldier received an introduction and threw out a pitch.

Twenty-six injured service men and women from 16 states participated in Lakeshore Foundation’s Operation Adventure, the southeastern regions’ first outdoor recreation and adventure camp designed specifically for injured military personnel.

The event, held in September, provided opportunities for bass fishing, shooting sports, scuba diving, water skiing, kayaking, a ropes course, and zip line climb for those attending.

“Our goal was to introduce recently injured military personnel to adaptive sport and help them adjust to their new lives at home,” Program Director Ronda Jarvis-Ray said. “What we didn’t anticipate were the broader, emotional and psychological healing effects the weekend had.”

Dustin Howell, a 22-year-old retired Marine from Michigan, was severely injured in May 2004 when he triggered an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) while on foot patrol. After 11 months in the hospital, he returned home and now is at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Chicago in the Blind Rehabilitation program.

“When I first arrived at Operation Adventure, I was nervous and hesitant, because I was the only blind guy there,” Howell said. “But Jen Armbruster, one of Lakeshore’s staff members who is also blind, teamed up with me. Eventually, I made a deal with her - that I’d try anything that she’d do, so we pretty much did it all. I water-skied in the sit ski and kayaked for the first time in my life, plus I caught my first spotted bass.

“One of the hardest things was climbing the rock wall. It was tough, but the ride down on the zip line was great. When I came home after the weekend, the guys here were pretty amazed at what I’d done. It’s cool to think there are all these things I can do…things I had never done even before I was injured. I’m ready to try it all again.”

Army National Guardsman, Jim Vanderveuval, 26, was one month shy of completing his time in Iraq, when he suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after the Humvee in which he was riding was blown up. “I had to learn to walk, talk, and think again,” he said.

Vanderveuval’s mother, Mary, said his trip from Minnesota to Alabama was a major milestone. “Jim still experiences memory lapses and some cognitive difficulties,” she said. “I was definitely nervous and worried, but now realize it was a good step for him …and for me. It forced me to let him leave the nest and has increased his sense of independence tremendously.”

Vanderveuval said, “At Operation Adventure, I tried water skiing and scuba diving for the first time and loved it. I also got to talk to other vets - something I don’t get to do at home - which was great.”

He continued, “I know I’ve got something I’ve got to live with for the rest of my life, but Operation Adventure has shown me there are lots of exciting new options to try - things I’d never even thought about,” he said.

“Lakeshore will never realize what they gave to me and my family,” said Nick Bennett. Bennett was injured on Veteran’s Day 2004 when his Humvee was hit by a 107 mm rocket south of Baghdad. One of the most significant wounds the 37-year-old father of three carries, however, is not a visible one. He continues to struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“Operation Adventure was a major emotional bridge in my recovery,” Bennett said. “I’d pretty much been living in fear…fear about what I couldn’t do, fear that I’d re-injure myself, fear of failing. A good deal of my identity was tied to being a Marine, the best of the best. Being injured robs you of that.

“Before my wife and I left for Alabama, my parents reviewed the camp activities that were scheduled and listed all the things I couldn’t do. Thanks to the Lakeshore staff and their expertise, by the end of the weekend, I’d done just about everything. Having my wife there watching and cheering me on also made a big difference, and it freed her from a lot of the fear and anxiety she’d been experiencing.

“Before, I felt guilty that I couldn’t play ball with my sons. Now I know there are other things we can do as a family.

“The most significant activity for me, though, was climbing the rock wall,” he continued. “That wall became a symbol of the mountain of fear I’d been carrying. Making it to the top helped me unload that emotional baggage. When I came down the zip line, I felt like a totally different person.”

Operation Adventure was offered free to military personnel with severe service-related injuries.  Meals, lodging, and a travel stipend were also provided. The weekend was made possible by generous donations from AmSouth/Regions Bank, Southwest Airlines, the Hilton Perimeter Park, and through a grant from the Hillcrest Foundation.

Special thanks to Damian Veazey, Lakeshore Foundation, for this article.

Photo Caption:

The hard climb up the rock wall was rewarded by a descent via zip line. Dustin Howell, of Wayland, Mich, a Marine inured by a landmine, enjoys the ride.

Celebrating Freedom, Bonairean Style

Six U.S. Soldiers and Marines traveled to the Caribbean island of Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles, Oct. 14-21, to complete the final step of obtaining their scuba diving certification. The interest in becoming certified divers began at DS/USA’s Adaptive Water Sports Festival in Rockaway, the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project event held in July.

The group included: Aaron Bugg and his wife, Lisa; Adam Kisielewski and his wife, Carrie; Justin Leon and his wife, Lorena; Tim Boots and his wife, Emily; Dean Schwartz and his girlfriend, Emily Phipps; and Cristian Valle and his sister, Irma. They were accompanied by volunteer certified scuba instructors, DEMA’s Big Wave Dave Reidenbach, and Stew Snyder of the Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA).

The citizens and the many American visitors to Bonaire extended a warm welcome to the veterans beginning with a welcome ceremony at the airport and a greeting from Lt. Gov. Herbert Domacasse, followed by a parade to their resort, Captain Don’s Habitat, which provided complimentary accommodations. Jack Chalk, the general manager for Captain Don’s, a veteran himself, described the hosting of the warriors as “an honor.” On the last evening of the week, Chalk hosted a Texas barbeque with all the trimmings at his home.

Other events included dinners sponsored by various resorts and restaurants in Bonaire, a bus tour of the island, a $200.00 certificate from the Jewel of Bonaire Jewelry and Gift Shop for each warrior, a gift bag from various retailers on Bonaire filled with books, souvenirs, artwork, and gift certificates for several locations on the island.

The last evening, a reception and dinner was held at the home of Lt. Gov. Domacasse, where the veterans were honored as Bonaire Bronze Medal Ambassadors.

All of the warriors became fully scuba certified PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and HSA Open Water Divers thanks to Big Wave Dave of the DEMA Scuba Tour and Stew Snyder of HSA. Most of the Wounded Warriors’ companions also took the opportunity for an introductory scuba lesson and went on dives, snorkeling, and exploring a wreck 100 feet below the surface.

At the end of each dive, they all surfaced with huge, satisfying smiles on their faces. Comments like “That’s so cool” or “Did you see the size of that fish?” were commonly heard. Tim Boots described diving as “like flying with a flock of birds.” He also said that he was more active in sports now than when he was before he became injured.

Thanks to Carla Reidenbach, who contributed to this article.