In a heartfelt acknowledgment of its origins, Disabled Sports USA is once again embracing the rehabilitation of U.S. military personnel injured in service to our country. Over 500 soldiers have been severely disabled in the Iraqi conflict since March, 2003.

Recent months have seen enlisted men and officers sharing in a common concern — rehabilitation following an amputation or other serious injury related to combat in Iraq. After being stabilized in hospitals and rehab centers here and overseas, they’ve accepted invitations from DS/USA to try skiing and other sports as a means to speed their recovery and regain mobility skills. On a broader level, they’re learning to use recreation as a path to rebuilding self-confidence, acceptance, and a promising future.

Starting with last December at The Hartford Ski Spectacular, and expanding in early March with the US Disabled Alpine Nationals in Vail, Colorado, military personnel with combat-incurred physical disabilities have been the guests of DS/USA. The outreach will continue this summer as invitations will go out to participate in DS/USA’s annual SummerFest in California. There the emphasis will be on adaptive water sports and other recreation.

Making recreation accessible to people with physical disabilities was the goal more than a quarter-century ago when Disabled Sports USA was created. Physical rehabilitation via sports and recreation was already a success in Europe after World War II when military veterans were taught to snow ski and play wheelchair basketball. Scandinavian countries had discovered that veterans with amputations achieved swifter rehabilitation after being taught to snow ski, with or without adaptive equipment.

Accordingly, Disabled American Veterans organized adaptive skiing training for injured Vietnam veterans, particularly leg amputees. DS/USA’s executive director, Kirk Bauer, was one of those to experience snow skiing as a way to recover from leg amputation and return to a vital lifestyle. Soon, athletic rehabilitation spread to other sports, prompting the formation of Disabled Sports USA in 1967.  Although DS/USA participants include those with visual impairments, spinal cord injury, dwarfism, multiple sclerosis, head injury, cerebral palsy, and other neuromuscular and orthopedic conditions, the majority are amputees.

Ski Spec is Kick Off Event
Acting on these traditions, DS/USA invited a group of seven soldiers recovering from wounds incurred in Iraq to be special guests, along with family members and friends, at last December’s The Hartford Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge, Colorado. Some had skied and tried snowboarding before; others had not. Their common bond was the recent loss of one or more limbs due to the fighting.

Captain David Rozelle, 31, of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Division, learned to ski at age four. But Ski Spec was his first opportunity on snow since losing his right foot on June 21 when a mine exploded under his Humvee near the town of Hit in western Iraq. Arriving in Colorado with his wife Kimberly and their son

Brandon Erickson takes on the slopes

Forrest, born Aug. 5, David quickly took to the slopes again. He is intent on a full recovery to remain on active duty and assume a new command in May.

Commenting on his initial try at skiing with a prosthesis, he said, “I had no idea of what it was going to be like. I’d been an expert skier; I had the muscle memory. I just had to adapt. It was an incredible experience. And it’s liberating. As soon as I got into the ski boot, I didn’t feel like there was anything wrong with me, until it came time to buckle out of the boot and walk around again.”

Proving well up to the challenge, Capt. Rozelle even took part in the elite Level II Giant Slalom race alongside members of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. After the race, he wondered whether he wasn’t skiing better now than before his injury!

Back on the Mountain
A U.S. Marine for the past 13 years, Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, 32, learned to ski two years ago while on active duty in Japan. On March 21, the first day of hostilities in Iraq, he stepped on a landmine and lost a leg above the knee. An outpatient at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, this San Antonio native came to Ski Spec with his aunt, Diane Miles. At first apprehensive that his injury would prevent his newfound love for skiing, he got out on the slopes his first day at Breckenridge, and capped off an enjoyable week by returning home to watch his mother graduate.

In a later letter to DS/USA, Sgt. Alva wrote, “I was going to learn how to ski again. I was nervous — No, I was petrified. I thought this cannot be possible...I only have one leg... After 30 minutes of instruction, I was actually on a chair lift heading up the mountain. I was so scared, but, after a few wide turns and getting used to my special outriggers, I couldn’t believe I was skiing. Heck, I was skiing better than I was walking with my prosthesis!”

Ironically, Navy corpsman Brian Alaniz, 29, also stepped on a landmine on the first day of the Iraq war while he was attending to Eric Alva’s injury; Eric incurred an above knee amputation, while Brian required a below knee amputation. Also a Texan, Brian is stationed in Bethesda, Md. He was joined at Ski Spectacular by his wife Ammi, who is in the military, too. Ski lessons were a first for both of them.

Back on the Board
Army Spc. Keith Deutsch, 20, of New Prague, Minn., has always been an avid snowboarder. He enlisted in the Army in November, 2001, and lost his leg above the knee on Aug. 29 when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his truck while his unit was changing base camps north of Baghdad. According to Keith, his initial concern upon becoming an amputee was whether he could ever snowboard again. No problem, reported his instructors. Soon they were cautioning the enthusiast to slow down, to no avail. By the end of Ski Spectacular, Keith had formed his own snowboarding team to join the 9th annual Corporate Challenge Race, finishing a respectable 13th out of the 21 teams entered. He came to the event with a friend, Derek Riechow.

While traveling in convoy to Ramadi, Iraq, Sgt. Brandon Erickson lost his arm when he was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade last July. An avid skier, the 22-year-old was accompanied by his father Marshall and both were soon at home on the slopes at Breckenridge. Brandon’s next challenge will be attending the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks to study political science.

National Guard member Robert “B.J.” Jackson, 22, of Des Moines, Iowa, attended the event with his wife Abbi and his two daughters. He became a bilateral amputee after being struck by a remote-activated mine on Aug. 7. Despite the recent loss of both legs, B.J. was gaining control of his sit-ski by the second day at Breckenridge.

Army Serviceman Johnnie Williams, who was wounded on May 5 when his Humvee was hit by enemy fire, sustained an L2/L3 paraplegic injury. Although the 20-year-old soldier had never skied before coming to Colorado, he and his mother Vicky joined members of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. Johnnie learned to ski within hours of his first experience on the slopes.

Individually and as a group, the military guests and their families contributed greatly to the enthusiasm and camaraderie which always characterizes DS/USA’s The Hartford Ski Spectacular. It was such a positive experience that another invitation went out for recovering military personnel to join the action at the March US Disabled Alpine Nationals in Vail, Colorado.

DS/USA located the participating military personnel and covered their travel arrangements to Vail where Vail Resorts and the Wheelchair Foundation hosted their stay.

Among the seven accepting the offer for complimentary skiing, instructions, and accommodations were a returning Capt. David Rozelle and skiing novice Pfc. Phil Bauer, 27, also a lower limb amputee stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. The two, who share a desire to return to active military duty, see snow skiing as a vigorous workout that promises to be far more enjoyable than exercising in a gym. While they never crossed paths in Iraq, both were sent to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC, for rehab six months apart.

Brandon Erickson and DAvid Rozelle receive downhill ski instruction from adaptive skiing specialist Doug Sato.

When Pfc. Bauer arrived in Iraq, President Bush had just announced the end of major hostilities. His unit had just crossed the border when Bauer saw a departing soldier carrying a sign saying, “You’re too late. It’s already over.” Regardless, the unit kept busy patrolling border crossings and training Iraqis to secure sites. Five months later, Phil was in a Chinook helicopter on the way to a two-week home leave when the aircraft was shot down. The crash killed 16 soldiers; Bauer was among the 26 who survived. Then the rear of the helicopter exploded as the men lay trapped. It was two hours before the Jaws of Life were used to free them. When Bauer arrived at Walter Reed, his commander contacted Rozelle and asked him to keep an eye on the new amputee. Both ended up back at Fort Carson, diligently working out to return to active duty once they mastered their prostheses.

Looking Back: Looking Forward
While Capt. Rozelle had an advantage with his previous expertise and practice on the Breckenridge slopes at last December’s Ski Spectacular, he attempted to even the odds by trying to glide downhill on just one ski, as he’d seen other amputees do. Once he masters the single ski, he may consider teaching others to do the same.

Eric Alva, special guest, U.S. Marines.

“I’ve always been a teacher. Now I have a chance to mentor,” he told a Colorado reporter covering the Alpine Nationals in Vail. “Now I’m on a whole new level. I want to have the ability to walk into (the hospital) and say, ‘Get out of bed and come ski with me. I’m going to learn to ski right beside you,’” Rozelle emphasized.

Icing on the cake during the captain’s Vail visit was learning that the Army had decided he was fit to return to active duty. The officer credits determination, a sound rehabilitation program, extensive support — and perhaps, a little downhill skiing – as the basis for this accomplishment.

Looking back to his experience at Breckenridge, Sgt. Eric Alva concluded, “I came to realize there are no limitations to what a person can do, even someone who’s disabled. I am so grateful to Disabled Sports USA for breathing life back into me. It’s like I said.... skiing is as close to heaven as I can get. Thank you, everybody, for getting me back up that mountain.”

DS/USA, which has only limited resources to continue this recreation/rehab opportunity for military personnel, is opening a special fund for public donations for this effort. Proceeds will help cover transportation, accommodation, and instruction expenses related to winter and summer sports events. Anyone interested in assisting disabled soldiers from the Iraq conflict through this rehab program may send tax deductible contributions to DS/USA/Soldier Fund at 451 Hungerford Dr., Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20850, or call 301-217-9841 for further information.