Paralyzed Veterans of America Blog

If you talk to almost anyone at this year’s National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Detroit, the conversation drifts quickly away from brackets and standings and toward something harder to put a medal around: the feeling of being seen again as an athlete, not just a patient.”I lost my leg in 2013, and it probably wasn’t […]

The squeal of tires on concrete. The sharp clanging of a wheelchair rugby collision. A roomful of strangers who somehow feel connected. This month, Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit was alive with the sound of the 45th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. For the 500-plus veteran athletes who rolled into the Motor City, the medals […]

In 1981, 77 veterans gathered to compete in seven events. 45 years later, ~500 veteran athletes from across the country will convene in Detroit for the 45th National Veterans Wheelchair Games — a milestone anniversary for what has grown into the world’s largest annual wheelchair sports and rehabilitation event designed exclusively for U.S. military veterans […]

Shana Milan knows what it’s like to wake up feeling uncertain. Some mornings, she’s ready to tackle her to-do list. Other days, chronic pain from several disabilities including migraines, multiple sclerosis, neuropathy, and spinal stenosis keeps her in bed. The unpredictability ended her ability to work a traditional job and sent her into a deep […]

Every day in Fallbrook, California, Jhoonar Barerra follows a routine that keeps him moving forward. The 49-year-old Army veteran lifts weights, stretches on the floor, and prepares for his next wheelchair basketball practice. It is a far cry from where his story could have ended 18 years ago.Barerra served from 1999 to 2007 as a […]

When Army Veteran David woke up paralyzed after his accident in 2015, he knew he had “come back” for a reason. What he didn’t know is that thanks to his injury, he would travel the world, inspiring other people with disabilities through adaptive sports.Prior to his injury, David served as a military police officer in […]

“People need people, and PVA is one of the best organizations to help do that by connecting and reaching out to Veterans and support groups for Veteran families.”Growing up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Air Force Veteran Michael dreamed of becoming a professional athlete someday. After joining the Air Force and becoming paralyzed from the waist down, […]

 “My life can serve as an example of being strong, positive, and never surrendering the fighting spirit.”Veterans in combat can come away with any number of illnesses and injuries, both mental and physical. While serving in Operation Desert Storm, Army Veteran Michael had many experiences that continue to impact him today. Throughout his career, Michael sought […]

For Navy veteran Tina Leet, handcycling and other adaptive sports have been the cure to the physical and emotional loss she felt following a life-changing injury and nerve disease that ended her beloved military career. A native of Oconomowoc, Wis., Tina began dreaming of a career in the military at eight years old. At age 15, following […]

Dan Rose To assist with tuition, and having two grandfathers who had served in the military, Dan Rose joined the Army Reserve in college. Ten years into his Reserve career, Rose found himself serving as a combat engineer in Afghanistan. While on a routine route clearing mission, Rose and his crew triggered an Improvised Explosive […]