Veteran lost caregiver because "no progress" made....he's a triple amputee

Veterans Urge Changes Before Expansion Of VA Caregivers Program

KSTX
By QUIL LAWRENCE
AUG 8, 2019

"I got a letter saying that I was out of the program because the veteran hasn't shown any progress since 2011," said Alicia. "I asked them, 'What do you mean by progress?' "

Matt shakes hands with members of the Warrior Games community after his race. "I got a letter saying that I was out of the [caregivers] program because the veteran hasn't shown any progress since 2011," Alicia said. "I asked them, 'What do you mean by progress?' " EVE EDELHEIT FOR NPR

There are times when retired Staff Sgt. Matt Lammers doesn't look like he needs anyone's help — like when he was competing, and winning, races at the Department of Defense Warrior Games in Tampa, Fla., this summer.

"We don't like to say the word 'can't' in our family," says Matt, who lost both his legs above the knee and his left arm to an explosion during his second deployment to Iraq in 2007.

Matt won medals at the games in Tampa for sitting volleyball, swimming and indoor rowing. At the end of the games, the U.S. Army gave him the "heart of the team" award. But he and his wife almost didn't attend, because they were short on cash to make the trip after Alicia was cut from the Department of Veterans Affairs' caregiver program last December because Matt had not "consistently engaged in treatment," according to a letter from the VA. Alicia had been Matt's official caregiver for most of eight years.

"It felt like a stab in the back, like what I do is not worth it in their opinion, like I'm not part of their team like I thought I was," she says.
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Chief Navy Diver Offering hope from darkness of PTSD

Veteran who once contemplated suicide is now a Warrior Games winner
CBS News
Jeremy Bradly
July 2, 2018

"It gave me light at the end of the tunnel. It showed me that I am worth something, that I'm not alone."

Chief Navy Diver Julius McManus  

PTSD. Traumatic brain injury. Patellar tendon injured by a stingray. Years of rehabilitation, both physical and mental. These are the sacrifices Chief Navy Diver Julius McManus made while serving his country over the course of his career, for 21 years and counting.

Ask him about it, and he says he would do it all over again. "There's nothing about my service I would change," McManus says. "I've had some great opportunities with repatriation of remains — bringing missing brothers home — to combat tours where I'm supporting the guys doing the hard business, and leading my sailors. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

"I was in some dark places," McManus says. "I was looking at avenues to end my own life without causing harm to my family."

With the support of his wife and three sons, McManus says he has now come back from that dark place. He credits the camaraderie and competition he's found with other wounded service members at programs like the Warrior Games for helping change his outlook on life.

Every year since 2010, the Department of Defense's Warrior Games bring together wounded service members in a supportive and competitive environment to enhance their recovery and rehabilitation.

This year, 300 athletes from all branches of the armed forces came to the Air Force Academy for the event. CBSN brings you five stories of these "American Warriors."
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Disabled Air Force Veteran is Ultimate Champion

Air Force Competitor Earns ‘Ultimate Champion’ Title at Warrior Games
DoD News
By Shannon Collins Defense Media Activity
June 21, 2016

WEST POINT, N.Y., June 21, 2016 — Medically retired Air Force Master Sgt. Reese Hines earned the “Ultimate Champion” title and bragging rights at the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the U.S. Military Academy here.

2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games Shooting Competition
Air Force veteran Master Sgt. D. Reese Hines poses for a photo with a competition air rifle at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., June 19, 2016. Hines was named the event’s Ultimate Champion after winning a series of events. DoD photo by EJ Hersom

From June 15 until today, about 250 wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans representing teams from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, U.S. Special Operations Command and United Kingdom armed forces competed in shooting, archery, cycling, track and field, swimming, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball.

He suffered damage to both eyes, and his right eye was surgically removed. His right hand was almost severed and was put back together, he said, though he lost his right index finger. His right wrist was fused, and some of his knuckles were fused to the right hand and thumb. He had a brain bleed, a traumatic brain injury, a bolt in his skull, a broken jaw, ruptured eardrums, soft-tissue damage to both arms, nerve damage to his leg and post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s gone through 30 to 40 surgeries.

Burnett was injured in July 2009 in Basra, Iraq, while serving as a computer networks operations technician. She served in the military 14 years. A rocket came in about 10 feet from where she was standing. Three of her fellow service members were killed, and two others were injured. She was knocked unconscious and suffered a TBI and PTSD from the incident.
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Warrior Games Begin With Tribute to Vietnam Veterans

DoD Warrior Games Begin With Torch Lighting, Vietnam Vets Tribute
Department of Defense
By Shannon Collins DoD News, Defense Media Activity
June 16, 2016

“On behalf of myself and all of my fellow wounded warriors, we would like to thank you for your service and the service of all Vietnam veterans.” Ret. Army Sgt. 1st Class Howard Sanborn

Army Capt. Kelly Elmlinger lights the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games torch during opening ceremonies for the games at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., June 15, 2016. DoD photo by EJ Hersom

WEST POINT, N.Y., June 16, 2016 — The 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games began yesterday evening when Army Capt. Kelly Elmlinger, with help from comedian Jon Stewart, lit the official torch during the event’s opening ceremonies at the U.S. Military Academy here.

“Being selected to light the torch is as much an honor and privilege as competing for Team Army,” Elmlinger said. “Finishing my Warrior Games career as Team Army captain and lighting the torch at the opening ceremony is by far the most amazing experience. It’s humbling to see the support from the Warrior Transition Command throughout my time on Team Army, and I graciously thank them for allowing me to participate as torch bearer in this event.”

About 250 wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans representing teams from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, U.S. Special Operations Command and United Kingdom armed forces will compete in shooting, archery, cycling, track and field, swimming, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball here until June 21.

“People ask me, ‘How do you talk to your kids about violence that occurs in this world?’” he said. “And I realized it’s time to stop telling him about the rare individuals who do harm and tell him more about the people whose names we don’t know and whose resilience and tenacity we can witness. That’s why I’m here today. I’m here to show him that the depth and strength of those whose names you may never know is the depth and strength of this country, and is the depth and strength that will allow us to overcome.” Jon Stewart

Go Air Force! Comedian Jon Stewart poses for a photograph with the Air Force team before the opening ceremony of the 2016 Warrior Games at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., June 15, 2016. DoD photo by EJ Hersom

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Army Veteran Runs 100 Meters as Double Amputee

Wounded but still fighting, only this time on a different field of battle 
Cronkite News Arizona
PBS By Nick Wicksman
POSTED: Jun 26, 2015

WASHINGTON – Less than two years after doctors said he might never run again, Safford native Terry Cartwright is proving them wrong.

The Army specialist is competing in multiple events this week in the 2015 Department of Defense Warrior Games, weeklong games that pit 250 athletes representing all branches of the military against one another.

Cartwright is one of 11 athletes in the games that are being held at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, who listed an Arizona hometown, said Victoria Long, a Marine Corps spokeswoman who is dealing with the games.

Athletes from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Special Operations Command, as well as the British armed forces, compete for medals in everything from track events to wheelchair basketball, archery to rugby.

As of Friday afternoon, Army had the overall medals lead, 41 to 33 over the second-place Marine Corps, in the games that run through Sunday.

The Warrior Games started in 2010 as “a competition for wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans held annually,” according to the U.S. Paralympics website. The games had been hosted at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, until moving to Quantico this year. read more here

War Veteran Inspires Fellow Marines As Triple Amputee Athlete

Triple Amputee Afghanistan War Veteran Inspires Fellow Marines 
Stars and Stripes
by Carlos Bongioanni
Jun 27, 2015

A good dose of humility also seemed to reside inside the triple-amputee athlete who was a bit evasive, giving a generic reply when asked how he typically performs at the Games. "I do pretty well. I just go out there and try to give it my all."

Anthony McDaniel congratulates his former wheelchair basketball teammates Tuesday

June 23, 2015 after the Warrior Games championship matchup at Quantico Marine Base

Virginia. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Virginia -- Anthony McDaniel had just been lowered into his wheelchair from a platform where he had been seated for throwing the discus at the Warrior Games.

Nearby, a folded tripod leaning against a chair fell to the ground. In gentlemanly fashion, McDaniel instantly maneuvered his wheelchair into position to retrieve the tripod for the reporter who dropped it.

McDaniel, 26, may have lost two legs and part of his left arm from war injuries, but he hasn't lost a strong conviction about being polite.

"Regardless if you've got all your limbs or you have none at all, politeness comes from within," said the medically-retired Marine with southern roots who names Pascagoula and Gautier, Mississippi, as his home towns.
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Army Nurse Went From Helping Patients To Being One

Army nurse goes from helping wounded warriors to racing them for gold 
United States Army
By Tim Hipps
June 25, 2015

Being an Army medic for 13 years and a medical provider for wounded warriors, she knew her road to recovery would be long and painful.

Army nurse goes from helping wounded warriors to racing them for gold Army Capt. Kelly Elmlinger, a surgical nurse with the Warrior Transition Unit on Fort Sam Houston, Texas, wins her division of the 100 meters in the 2015 Department of Defense Warrior Games track competition on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., June 23...

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (Army News Service, June 24, 2015) -- Two years ago, Army surgical nurse Capt. Kelly Elmlinger was helping wounded warriors recover from battle scars at the San Antonio Military Medical Center.

Now, she's competing alongside wounded warriors at the 2015 Department of Defense Warrior Games in Quantico this week.

Elmlinger, 35, planned to compete in all of the track events and three of the four swimming events.

She got off to a roaring start, June 23, by winning her divisions of the 100- and 800-meter wheelchair races before the remaining track events were postponed because of a severe thunderstorm.

In March 2013, Elmlinger was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare tumor in her lower leg, while she was taking care of wounded warriors in San Antonio.

"I ended up finding myself a patient on my own floor," she said. "In January and February of 2014, I was able to start doing rehab."

By June, she was competing again - this time in a wheelchair.

"I've always been involved in athletics," said Elmlinger, who competed in track and field, cross country and basketball in high school and college. "I stayed active through the military [before being diagnosed with cancer] in different events, so when I got to San Antonio to take care of the wounded warriors, I knew a little bit about the adaptive sports and some of the things they did.

"We very much enjoyed when our patients who left our inpatient services came back to show us they were on their prosthetics - they were walking, they were competing, they were going on trips - and the milestones they were able to achieve. It was absolutely wonderful to see them come back much healthier and in much better spirits, so that got me introduced to the adaptive community."
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Wounded Warrior Games in Germany

This is Warrior Transition Battalion,not to be confused with Wounded Warrior Project. The military also has their own programs for the wounded.

Wounded Warriors compete in time trials
DVIDS
86th Airlift Wing
Airman 1st Class Michael Stuart
February 17, 2015

Participants compete in the air rifle portion of the European Regional Warrior Games time trials on Vogelweh Military Complex, Germany, Feb. 12, 2015. The time trials is a competition to see how warriors stack up against their fellow brothers-in-arms on the track and field.
(U.S. Air Force Photo/Airman 1st Class Michael Stuart)

VOGELWEH AIR BASE, Germany - The Warrior Transition Battalion-Europe hosted the European Regional Warrior games time trials for wounded warriors across Europe on Vogelweh Air Base, Feb. 12.

The time trials is a competition to see how warriors stack up against their fellow brothers-in-arms on the track and field.

“A big part of the Warrior Transition Battalion is adaptive sports, which is a part of our recovery process,” said Army Staff Sgt. Ollie Knowland, Warrior Transition Unit wounded warrior. “Every day, the unit does different things to help us recover and this event is one of those efforts.”

Wounded warriors from Baumholder, Kaiserslautern, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Vilseck and Grafenwoehr came out to compete in the events.
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