M. Todd Hunter 2019-06-15 00:36:47
Veterans with similar injuries from different wars join peers in Colorado for Miracles on a Mountainside
Though Dave Nichols and Alex Hussey served in the Army decades apart, they share an experience that transcends time and conflict—both know what it’s like to have their lives changed in a heartbeat while serving their country.
Nichols was just 20 years old in 1970 when a Claymore mine detonation took both of his legs during a Vietnamese ambush.
“You go from being in the Army, and the best shape of your life, and then the next thing you know, you’re flat on your back with a life-changing injury,” explained Nichols. “You suddenly feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel.”
Forty-two years later, Hussey lost both of his legs to an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The blast also took most of his left hand and left him in a coma for six months with a traumatic brain injury. He, too, was just 20.
“At first, he was very angry,” said Kim Hussey, Alex’s wife. “But he’s the type of person who is going to focus on what he can do, not what he can’t. Over time, we’ve been trying to find him things that were fun for him. We didn’t dwell on his injuries.”
That forward-looking rehabilitative spirit is what led the Husseys, Nichols and over 380 other participants to attend the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass, Colo., in early April.
Co-hosted by DAV and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the annual clinic has served as a world leader in adaptive sports for 33 years. It provides the opportunity for veterans with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, neurological disabilities, blindness and amputations to participate in Nordic and Alpine skiing and snowboarding, rock climbing, scuba diving, sled hockey, snowmobiling and a wide range of other activities.
“Since Alex’s injury, we haven’t really gone far from where we live [in Washington],” said Kim. “But Alex has been doing pretty well recently, and this was something he really wanted to do. We finally decided that we wanted to try it out, even though it’s far away.”
“Alex has got a pretty significant disability, and just getting him out of the house and traveling here, navigating TSA and showing up is a large thing,” said clinic chairperson and DAV Past National Commander Dave Riley, himself a quadruple amputee. “His resiliency and ability to get out there and do it, even when it’s real hard, is the spirit of this event.”
For his outstanding courage, Hussey received the 2019 DAV Freedom Award. The award is given each year to the veteran who is an example to all disabled veteran athletes by embodying the spirit of the event and progressing in their rehabilitation.
“Veterans like Alex and his spouse and caregiver Kim are what drive the VA and DAV in coming back every year in our partnership to deliver the winter sports clinic,” said Michael Kilmer, director of the VA’s Western Colorado Health Care System.
While the Husseys said their main goal in attending the clinic for the first time was to simply have fun and meet other veterans, Nichols’ experience gave him a different perspective. He said every year he attends, he tries to mentor younger veterans who more recently became ill or injured and are struggling on the road to recovery.
“I’ve been [an amputee] for 48 years,” said Nichols, “so it’s nice to let them know life moves on and there’s a lot of opportunities out there, both personally and professionally.
“I was about 50 when I started adaptive sports. It changed my whole way of looking at myself and the world,” he continued. “You don’t have to be the best, but you can go out and give your best effort.”
“One of our main goals is for participants to be impacted by this event for a lifetime,” explained DAV National Voluntary Services Director John Kleindienst. “We want to introduce them to new opportunities and give them a chance to prove to themselves that their injuries do not have to limit their quality of life.
“None of this could happen without the selfless support of our amazing volunteers and sponsors,” Kleindienst said. “It’s truly humbling to come back year after year and see the same smiling faces giving their time so that others can regain a sense of normalcy. There’s a saying that nothing is stronger than the heart of a volunteer. This clinic proves that.”
“Coming here and seeing other people like [Alex] and the struggles that he goes through has just been an amazing experience,” said Kim Hussey. “It’s wonderful, because you’re getting veterans of all walks of life and they’re doing things that are fun together.”
Learn More Online
For more information about the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, visitwintersportsclinic.org.
Published by Disabled American Veterans. View All Articles.
This page can be found at http://digital.dav.org/article/Different+conflicts%2C+SAME+MOUNTAIN/3409312/595939/article.html.