Winter sports give disabled vets a lift

SNOWMASS VILLAGE - Disabled veterans from across the country will leave the fresh powder here today draped in medals earned during the 22nd National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic.

After a week conquering the mountain and, often, self-doubt, they're brimming with knowledge and confidence.

"I went snowmobiling for the first time," said Army reservist Cindy Lyons, 50, of Colorado Springs. "I never thought I'd do that. And you know what? I found out if you hang back in the seat, you can go really fast around the corners."

Lyons, who served as a medic with the California National Guard before joining the Reserves, works at Fort Carson. She recently was diagnosed with a disease of the peripheral nervous system in which the arms and legs become inflamed and stop working. She has been using a wheelchair since August.

In addition to zooming along snowmobile trails, Lyons flew down the mountain in a mono ski and, by all accounts, excelled at trap shooting and archery.

The clinic pairs veterans with personal aides and coaches who teach them the skills required to compete or simply have fun doing winter sports.

Some of the men and women were injured in combat or on duty, others were hurt after their service ended. When and how someone was injured makes no difference to the vets as they forge friendships, sharpen skills and share stories.

"Coming here, you meet people who've been through what you're going through - it's such a morale booster," said Steve Conor, 26, who served in the Iraq war as a Navy Machinist Mate II. Weeks after returning to Bremerton, Wash., Conor was in a motorcycle crash. After nearly a month of round-the-clock care, doctors amputated his right leg above the knee.

Conor's fiancee, Keri Minty, 26, witnessed the crash and stuck with him through those grueling first months. Then, Conor said, depression set in and the relationship deteriorated. After a year, Conor said: "I just kind of woke up and decided I had to get on with my life. I couldn't sit around being angry."

That's a recurring topic of conversation at Snowmass: Don't be angry about the change in your life. You discover your abilities when it appears they've been taken away.

Conor beamed as Minty headed down the mountain in the bucket of a mono ski. Many loved ones and caregivers also learn the sports, to share the sensations, difficulties and victories.

"It was incredible, absolutely incredible, to ride down the mountain and to experience what he did," Minty said. "This has been an amazing week. Steve's a pretty happy person, in general, but I can tell this is the first time since the accident that he feels like he blends in with a group."

Conor plans to enroll at a mechanics school in Phoenix after the couple's June 21 wedding.

Of the 391 vets registered at this year's clinic, 133 were new to the event. In addition to snowmobiling, sport shooting, archery and downhill skiing, they learned to cross-country ski, snowshoe, scuba dive, rock climb, curl, play sled hockey and fly fish.

Some of the vets flying down the slopes on skis and snowboards had never been on snow before. Others, including Littleton native Jonathan Lujan, 37, were avid powder hounds. Lujan buckled into skis Tuesday for the first time since he injured his spine on the fourth day of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lujan served in the Marines from 1993 to 1997, then re-enlisted Nov. 1, 2001.

In March 2003, he hurt his back in Kuwait when a truck he was riding in came under fire. He was thrown around and tried to get up, but "I just fell over," he said.

Three weeks later, he said, he could barely stand, and doctors wanted to fly him home, but he went back to his unit.

Lujan returned to Washington state in July 2003, his back pain unabated despite pain-killing injections. In July 2005, he had surgery to fuse the vertebrae in his lower back. When he awoke from surgery, he was paralyzed from the waist down. Yet the next day, he said, "I decided I'm not going to let this beat me," and he poured his energy into rehabilitation. After months of physical therapy, he regained the use of his upper legs. Now he stands and walks with the aid of leg braces.

"It was so exhilarating to be up on top of that mountain," he said. Lujan called his dad, a 32-year veteran of the Denver police force who had encouraged the surgery. "We teared up a bit, but it was a great phone call."

The weeklong sports clinic is the largest of its kind in the world, organizers say. It's a joint effort of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Disabled American Veterans, and is sponsored by numerous companies and staffed by hundreds of volunteers.

"This has been one of the best weeks of my life," said Steve Conor, as he looked forward to a second game of sled hockey.

"Here's my new outlook: Don't do it for me; let me figure out a way to do it myself."

DISCLOSURE: Life section editor Dena Rosenberry and three other members of the Colorado Springs-based Broadmoor Curling Club volunteered at the clinic, teaching the sport to nearly 50 veterans and dozens of their loved ones, aides and coaches.

ABOUT THE CLINIC

The National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic was held at Powderhorn and Crested Butte before moving to Snowmass in 2001. It is open to veterans with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic amputations, visual impairments, certain neurological problems and other disabilities. For more information, go to www.wintersportsclinic.va.gov

The statistics on this year's event:

391: Veterans participating
49: Female participants
342: Male participants
3,233: Most miles traveled to get to the clinic (from Hawaii)
44: States represented
20: Youngest participant's age
85: Age of oldest participant
13: Korean War veterans
51: Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans
18: Operation Enduring Freedom veterans
42: Gulf War veterans
96: Vietnam War veterans
6: World War II veterans
133: First-time participants
66: Air Force veterans
182: Army veterans
5: Coast Guard veterans
60: Marine Corps veterans
66: Navy veterans
6: Veterans who served in multiple military branches