Wounded Veteran Trades Wheelchair for Skis

Colorado veteran gets second chance to serve US in Paralympic Games
9News Colorado
Taylor Temby
March 2, 2014

DENVER - Americans choose to serve their country in different ways, but few of us are given an opportunity to serve like Coloradan Joel Hunt.

Hunt is an Iraqi war veteran who will be competing as an alpine skier in the Sochi Paralympic games this week, but his journey to skiing was rather unconventional.

Hunt joined the U.S. army back in 1998. He served for almost 10 years including three tours in Iraq. During his service, Hunt says he was hit with several roadside bombs. When he finally came home, he was bound to a wheelchair, suffering from a traumatic brain injury, paralysis in his leg and PTSD.

"I came home [and] found myself confined to a wheelchair in 2007 after I retired," he said. "I was confined to a wheelchair more for my traumatic brain injury, my dizzy spells and blackouts."
read more here