Amputee Vets Reach Milestones in Vail

Amputees being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, wrapped up three days of the third annual Vail Veterans Program March 5 at the world-class Colorado ski resort. The 24 veterans were wowed by the hospitality and welcome of Vail Mountain and the Vail community, noted Donna Miles, in a release from the American Forces Press Service. Not only did they enjoy the red-carpet treatment with free lodging, meals, ski gear, lift tickets, and lessons, they skied and snowboarded their way to new emotional and physical milestones.

"This is the most unique program because it provides one-on-one instruction and care for our veterans at the most important point in their lives," said Army Capt. Dave Rozelle, who lost part of his foot in Iraq and then returned to duty there. Rozelle now serves as administrator for Walter Reed's Amputee Care Center. While participants in the Vail program challenge each other on the slopes, there's no last-day race and no sense of competition, Rozelle said. "Everyone here finds success in their own way."

Army Lt. Col. Barbara Springer, chief of Walter Reed's physical therapy service, said it's exciting to watch the transformation that takes place on the slopes. "I've seen a lot of people turn the corner," she said. "By the end of the first day, you could see the big smiles ... (and) the sense of accomplishment on their faces."

Nikola Nemcanin, an instructor at the Vail Adaptive Ski School who worked with the veterans, shared Springer's excitement in watching the veterans realize their capabilities. "We show them what they can do, not what they can't do," he said. "It's really great to see the smiles on their faces when they realize what they've achieved."

"These people are just super in instilling confidence again," said Army Lt. Col. Dennis Walburn, who lost part of his leg to a roadside bomb in Mosul, Iraq, last May. Walburn, an avid skier before his injury, was making solid progress on the slopes using a single ski and outrigger ski poles.

Army Sgt. Joe Kapacziewski, a 3rd Ranger Battalion soldier who received extensive leg and arm injures in northern Iraq, admitted he was a little nervous about his first experience on skis. "My doctors didn't really want me to do this," fearing an accident could set back his progress, he said. But Kapacziewski decided to give it a go anyway. "I'm so glad I did. It's absolutely awesome," he said of his experience on a "bi-ski," specially adapted for disabled skiers. "This is the most fun I've ever had since I've been injured."

"Morale goes up" when troops return from an experience such as the Vail program, agreed Harvey Naranjo, an occupational therapy assistant at the hospital who accompanied the wounded troops to the event. "They're recharged and re-energized to continue to get ready to fully live their lives."

By "living their lives," Naranjo said, he means living without feeling bound by a disability. "We don't want them just to walk," he said. "We want them to run and to ski and to do whatever it is they'd like to do."