Injured and disabled U.S. veterans, some of the most respected and honored Americans, may not live the same life they led before going to war. But with the availability of home medical equipment and education, the trauma of a VA enrolled veteran's life-changing injury can be eased.

Injured and disabled U.S. veterans, some of the most respected
and honored Americans, may not live the same life they led before
going to war. But with the availability of home medical equipment
and education, thanks to a $1.68 billion budget allocated for the
prosthetics department from the target="_blank">U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, the
trauma of an enrolled veteran's life-changing injury can be
eased.

One way to inform disabled vets of their opportunity to receive
HME comes at the target="_blank">National Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, held
every year in Snowmass Village, Colo. Event organizers, the VA and
Disabled American
Veterans
, invite military service veterans with traumatic brain
and spinal cord injuries, orthopedic amputations, visual
impairments and other disabilities.

For many newly injured veterans, the clinic offers their first
experience in winter sports and gives them the inspiration to take
their rehabilitation to a higher level.

Neal Eckrich, acting COO of Veteran Affairs
Prosthetic and Sensory Aid Service
, says at this year's event,
the 23rd, the message was well-received. "We're here educating vets
and clinicians about what equipment is available to them. If a vet
needs it, they get it. It should be liberating."

After careful evaluation by therapists and clinicians of what
rehabilitation and/or equipment is needed, the vets are provided
with equipment that "makes them have the best life possible," says
Eckrich. The VA service provides "anything that goes home,"
including everything from wheelchairs to kitchen utensils, he
explains. "There is no restriction on what and how much we
provide."

The service helped roughly 1.2 million veterans last year,
including Iraqi Freedom Army veteran Joey Bozik, 30, from Fuquay
Varina, N.C. Bozik is a triple amputee, and attended the sports
clinic for the fourth time this year. Even though at home he uses
power and manual wheelchairs and prosthetics, he was able to enjoy
himself in Snowmass. "There are people with several disabilities
here, and it's a great opportunity for people to find out [about]
and see what other home medical equipment people have and use,"
Bozik says.

At home, Bozik says it's his equipment that makes him ambulatory
and allows him to do something else he loves — play golf.

Eckrich notes such activities add independence and enrich the
vets' lives. "We see our equipment increase physical health, but
also mental health. It's about getting out with family, friends and
participating."

Satisfying a veteran may be the best reward. "We get two
reactions. One is gratitude; they know what they are getting, and
they are thankful," Eckrich says. "Others are surprised. Many vets
who are not enrolled in the VA have a bad misconception about what
we provide. They think they will get a bare-bones product, not
something that is top-of-the-line.

"But once they see us at events like this, and they see we
provide the best equipment around, they think, 'Maybe I should
enroll after all.'"

Visit the target="_blank">National Veterans Winter Sports Clinic Web site
for more information.