Paralyzed Veterans of America Blog

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 […]

A diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is life-changing under any circumstances. For veterans, it can feel especially isolating. It’s a battle fought not on foreign soil, but within the body of someone who already gave so much in service to this country. According to an American Academy of Neurology study, veterans are twice as likely […]

By the time a caregiver reaches out for help, the clock is already running. For veterans living with ALS, a disease that progresses relentlessly, stripping away speech, movement, and independence, there is no time to navigate the complex bureaucracy alone. That’s where Paralyzed Veterans of America steps in.Recently, a social worker at an ALS clinic […]

Justin Hall went to sleep on a September 2024 night thinking Hurricane Helene would miss them. He had checked the forecast and decided Grovetown, Georgia, the quiet community outside Augusta where he lives, was probably in the clear.He was wrong.“When Helene hit, when I went to sleep that night, I thought that it was going […]

Paralyzed Veterans of America and GOVX have joined forces — and for the communities they both serve, the timing couldn’t be better.The new partnership connects two organizations with deep roots in American military life. PVA has spent more than 80 years supporting veterans living with spinal cord injuries and diseases, like MS and ALS, helping […]

At South by Southwest, a conference known for launching the next big thing, Paralyzed Veterans of America made the case last week that the most transformative ideas in technology, design, and culture haven’t come from abundance. They’ve come from need and the courage to challenge the status quo.The panel discussion, “Disability: The Ultimate Innovation Driver,” […]

On a humid afternoon in Georgia, Amy Dotson sat behind the wheel of her 2024 Honda Odyssey and smiled at the quiet hum of independence.Dotson, a member of Paralyzed Veterans of America’s Southeastern Chapter, enjoys a life full of advocacy, adaptive sports, and miles on the open road. But the path there was long, winding, […]

The question sounds simple enough: Who gets to participate?At South by Southwest on March 18, Paralyzed Veterans of America gathered a panel to work through the answer, and what emerged was less a feel-good conversation about ramps and reserved parking than a hard-edged argument about power, belonging, and the cost of getting it wrong.The panel, […]

On January 18, 1946, in the recreation hall of the Red Cross at Birmingham General Hospital in Van Nuys, California, about 70 World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries gathered for a meeting that would change the course of disability civil rights in America.They returned from the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific to […]

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 […]