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Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX - The Air Force Wounded
Warrior program hosted the first Adaptive and Rehabilitative Sports
event for members of the 59th Medical Wing's Airman Medical
Transition Unit Oct. 9, 2015 at the Medina Annex Fitness Center.
The AMTU provides administrative oversight and supervision to
Airmen recovering from combat and non-combat related injuries and
illnesses.
More than 40 wounded warriors from the Army,
Marine Corps and Air Force, including those from the AMTU,
participated in daylong sporting events aimed at introducing them to
other wounded warriors in the San Antonio area.
Participants rotated through various clinics where they learned
the fundamentals of adaptive sports like sitting volleyball,
swimming, wheelchair basketball and yoga. Over the next three
months, the AMTU will host weekly practices so that Airmen from the
unit can hone their new skills and develop new relationships.
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U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Darrell Davis II, a supervisor with the 59th Medical
Wing Airman Medical Transition Unit, shoots to score during the
Adaptive and Rehabilitative Sports Kick-Off Oct. 9, 2015, on Joint
Base San Antonio-Lackland. The Airman Medical Transition Unit
provides administrative oversight and supervision to more than 50
Airmen recovering from combat and non-combat related injuries and
illnesses. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Ellis)
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Staff Sgt. Sven Perryman, a volunteer swim coach and
Warrior Games champion, was injured in a motorcycle accident
in 2009. After a long recovery, he has defied the odds and
is now training to compete at the national level.
"The doctors said that just to walk normal again would be an
accomplishment for me," Perryman said. "At the time when I
was Iaying in a hospital bed and confined to a wheelchair
for 10 months, there's no way I could imagine doing what I
am now."
Since the accident, Perryman feels that he
has been given a second chance and has even deployed
supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. He now dedicates two
to three hours, six days a week in the pool, with the goal
of proving his doctors wrong and proving to himself that he
can accomplish anything he desires.
One participant
explained how the Air Force Wounded Warrior program is about
building camaraderie and promoting a sense of belonging.
"I didn't actually make the Air Force team; I was just
an attendee at the last Wounded Warrior Games," said retired
Master Sgt. Hope Giger. "Perryman, an eight medals recipient
in four different sporting events, didn't even know who I
was, but he walked over to me and gave me one of his medals.
He told me that although I was not competing, I'm still part
of team because I was there cheering everyone on."
Events like this are all about finding a group of people who
will support and encourage you, Giger added.
"Going
through what I went through, I felt I had to get involved
and share my story," said Perryman. "Adaptive sports is
about more than just competition. It's about recovery, and
you're not alone in the recovery process."
Since its
inception, the Military Adaptive Sports Program has assisted
more than 158,000 wounded, ill and injured service members
at 325 structured camps and clinics that feature activities
including basketball, cycling, track, field, swimming, golf,
sitting volleyball, yoga, and gardening, according to a
Department of Defense news release.
By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Ellis
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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