Paralyzed Veterans of America Blog

I’m a hand cyclist. To travel to and from the airport with my hand cycle, driving myself and having to park, is a job. One time I traveled through Houston’s George Bush Airport, parked my car where you drop off passengers, got out, got my wheelchair out, put my hand cycle on my shoulder and […]

I am a paraplegic traveler. Upon my arrival at LAX, I was placed on an aisle chair and promised that my wheelchair was at the gate. As I sat there waiting, they kept telling me it was coming. Thirty minutes later, I asked to transfer to the attendant’s bucket seat as I was worried about […]

I’d confirmed reservations for first class bulkhead seats for me and my travel assistant. Twice I’d confirmed seats and twice Alaska Airlines separated us and put us in different seats. Because of severe mobility issues I need those bulkhead seats to be close to lavatories in case I had to to go right now. Instead […]

I recently traveled from Florida to Dulles International Airport on American Airlines. I left West Palm Beach, Florida and connected through Charlotte. When I arrived in Charlotte, my brand new Permobil F5 corpus was in perfect shape. I could not have been more pleased. My new chair had made the first portion of the trip […]

What does the Medical Services team do and what impact have they had on the VA? One of the primary responsibilities of Medical Services is that we assure the quality of care and accessibility of healthcare services to Veterans with spinal cord injury and disease (SCI/D). Primarily the way we do that is we get […]

On September 30, 2021, over thirty-five female Veterans with disabilities gathered in Tempe, Arizona at the Mission Palms Hotel & Conference Center for PVA’s Women Veterans Retreat. They came to relax, build friendships, and learn how to navigate the unique issues they face after service. This year’s event focused on the whole health of women […]

WASHINGTON, D.C., (Oct. 5, 2021) — According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, women veterans make up nearly 2 million of the U.S. population, of which 10 percent are disabled. Despite being the fastest-growing Veteran population, many of these women often feel isolated, forgotten, and pushed aside. To address these feelings and help them navigate […]