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TAP THE POTENTIAL
Disability Awareness Month | October, 2008
Tap the Potential Disability Awareness month has been celebrated in Milwaukee each October since 2003. This year thirty-two organizations are sponsoring a variety of activities geared towards raising the public?s awareness of the talents and issues of people with disabilities in our community. Initially coordinated by the Milwaukee County Office for Persons with Disabilities, the 2008 effort is being led by Barbara Leigh from the Milwaukee Public Theatre and Heide Planey from VSA arts of Wisconsin.
Check out the Official TAP web site by clicking here.
2008 WPVA ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET
Beyond "Worthy"
On Saturday evening, September 27, 2008 at the Wyndham Hotel and Conference Center, our Chapter held its annual Recognition & Award Banquet to thank those people who gave "above and beyond" to service to our membership.
2009 WPVA Board of Directors - Inducted 9-27-08
Left to Right - Al Revolinski, Russell Worth, Jack Stone (VP & National Director), Michael Thomas, Augie Krieser (Government Relations Officer), Phillip Rosenberg (President), Chancy Williamson (Newsletter Editor), Jim Rutledge (Secretary) Not Pictured - Larry Ramirez and John Wille, Ken Matthews (Treasurer)
We were fortunate to have as our guest speaker, Marv Freedman, Board Chair, for Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs (WDVA). He commented on the close collaboration between WPVA and our efforts on behalf of veterans with any disabilities not just those that had been paralyzed by injury or disease. He also reaffirmed his intention on strengthening our relationship because it would mean delivery of quality services to all Wisconsin Veterans.
As is the custom our Board of Directors and its officers for 2008-09 were officially sworn in and presented our four annual chapter awards to very worthy recipients.
2009 WPVA Award Recipients
Left to Right - Norb and Theresa Hoff ( Pat Wiseman Volunteers of the Year), Paul Lehman, (Special Recognition of Merit - Trapshoot), Phillip Rosenberg (Donald Schmidt Sportsman of the Year Award), Phyliss Rutledge (Certificate of Recognition), Stanley Hunt (President's Award) and Stephen Hoyer (Certificate of Recogintion)
Not Pictured - Marc Koepsel (Faulkner Award), and other Certificates of Recognition went to Scot Godager, Sandy Laedtke, Joyce Casey, Sandy Hammersley, Kim Michalowski, Lynn & Richard Halatek, Phyllis Rutledge and Candie Stevenson.
CONGRATULATIONS GUS!
2008 Spirit of The Games Award Recipient | July 31, 2008
With cowbells in hand and enthusiasm coursing his veins, he cheers on his fellow veterans in competition. The bells have become a tradition – the man, an inspiration. With 20 years of National Veterans Wheelchair Games experience backing him, this former president of the Wisconsin Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America is honored as the 2008 Spirit of the Games award recipient.
Gustave “Gus” Sorenson, an Army veteran from the city of Sturtevant, enjoys the sports and the camaraderie at the Games, but most of all, he loves the people. Well, Gus, the people are fond of you and your demeanor, too! That is what this award is all about. The Spirit of the Games award is given to an athlete who clearly demonstrates not only athletic competence, but also sportsmanship and strength of character. Sorenson, as described by his numerous supporters, is humble, kind, encouraging and giving. [Download the full story in PDF form]
EVALUATE THIS NEW PRONE CART!
FYI | June 27, 2008
A new prone cart...please come to the SCI/D center at the Zablocki VA to see it, evaluate it and give us your feedback! This new folding electric cart was developed by Milwaukee & Tampa VA SCI/D Centers clinicians and researchers. We are looking for volunteers with paraplegia & quadriplegia or other disabilities from the Wisconsin PVA chapter to evaluate it at the Zablocki VA. Volunteers will be asked to fill out a consent form and an evaluation questionnaire to participate in this research study. The evaluation may take from 2 to 4 hours of your time. Please call the SCI/D Center secretary at 414.384.2000 x41288 to schedule an appointment.
PVA DISASTER RELIEF FUND
FYI | June 21, 2008
Available to PVA members, up to a mximum of $2,500 per individual or family.
Funds may be used for transportation, temporary shelter, food, modifications for accessibility, prosthetic appliances, and medical supplies. Funds will not be provided if other assistance has been provided to pay for the items in the request (insurance, FEMA, etc.). Funds will not be approved to cleanup, fix, or replace damages not related to the veteran's primary dwelling. Download an application by clicking here.
FRONTLINE'S BAD VOODOO WAR
FYI | June 9, 2008
PBS Frontline goes to war with a platoon of National Guard soldiers to see the war through their eyes, filmed with their own video cameras. You can view the full online program by clicking here.
FIRST GRADERS ADOPT A COUPLE OF WPVA VETS
Don Fell | Wisconsin PVA Executive Director, April 30, 2008
As part of PVA Awareness week Augie Krieser, WPVA Government Relations Officer and Gus Sorenson, our Government Relations Director again visited Stacy Jaegers first grade class at Jackson Elementary School in Manitowoc. For the past five years Augie and Gus have been meeting with Ms. Jaegers class once to twice a year. According to Ms. Jaeger her kids really look forward to a visit from these two Vietnam Vets. Her classes have adopted them and enthusiastically listen and interact with these vets as they tell the story of what it is like to first be a veteran of the armed services and then what life has been like living in a wheelchair for many years.
Both Augie and Gus explain what it means to be a quadriplegic, how they were injured, and how they have adapted to their disability. The kids are really surprised to learn that the vets work at full-time jobs, drive their own vehicles, and participate in such sports as Quad Rugby and Track & Field at the National Veteran Wheelchair Games each year. Often Augie and Gus bring an extra wheelchair or two so the kids and their teacher can experience what life is like having to depend on a wheelchair to provide your main mode of getting from here to there every day.
Augie and Gus get as much benefit from these visits as the kids do. The energy of a group of 20 first graders gives them quite a boost that last for quite some time after their visit to the class is over. Truth be told, Gus and Augie look forward to these visits as much as the kids do.
A quote from Augies recent letter to the Editor to the local Manitowoc newspaper really captures the message our Chapter relays to the community at large during PVA Awareness Week.
With this thought, I sign off... "Think more about the challenges facing paralyzed veterans, their families and loved ones --- from having to fight for good health care and striving for a barrier free accessible nation for everyone." I am proud to be from Wisconsin!
Augie Krieser joined the Wisconsin Paralyzed Veterans of America [PVA] in 1980 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 1990. Augie is the Government Relations Officer [GRO] and he is the Chair of the Advocacy/Legislation Committee. He received the Chapter Presidents Award in 1992.
Employed by the City of Manitowoc, Wisconsin as a Firefighter for many years, Augie was also certified as an Emergency Medical Technician [EMT] and as an EMT Instructor. Due to a motorcycle accident in 1980 that resulted in quadriplegia, Augie received a medical retirement. He is a member of the Retired Professional Firefighters Association [RPFA], Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW], Disabled American Veterans [DAV], American Veterans of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam [AMVETS], and the Vietnam Veterans of America [VVA].
From 1964-67, Augie was a member of the United States Army and trained in the field of aviation. While stationed in Vietnam Augie was a Crew Chief on an OV1-Mohawk and later a CV-2 Caribou. While in Vietnam, his duties included gathering military intelligence for the Marines on the DMZ and Ho Chi Minh Trail in I Corps by night aerial surveillance. He was assigned to the 20th ASTA Detachment at a small landing field at Hue-Phu Bai. He finished his stint in the military at Fort Benning, Georgia as a Maintenance Chief.
Augie Krieser graduated from Lincoln High School in Manitowoc Class of 64. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc Campus and at Silver Lake College, Augie earned a BA Degree in Psychology and Family Studies, an MA Degree in Political Science, and a BSW Degree in Social work. He is currently working on his MSW Degree in Social Work.
Augie enjoys wheelchair racing, fishing, and target practice. He is a tireless advocate for accessibility, and he derives great pleasure in educating his hometown on ADA requirements. Augie resides in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Gus Sorenson became Government Relations Director [GRD] in May 2000. Prior his appointment to this position, Gus has served the chapter as President, National Director, Vice-President, Secretary, Board Member, and Volunteer. Gus is also a member of PVAs Long Range Planning Committee. He has been a PVA Member since the 1970s.
As GRD, Mr. Sorensons primary focus is monitoring legislation that affects veterans and advocating for individuals with physical disabilities. He is also involved in a number of other assignments for the chapter such as grant writing, newsletter material, and fund raising. Mr. Sorenson often speaks to school classes and professional groups on what it means to be a veteran and what its like to live with a disability.
Mr. Sorenson served in the United States Army from May 1968 through February 1970 when he was honorably discharged. Sixteen days later he sustained a spinal cord injury. Overseas tours of duty include Panama and South Vietnam. Among his military decorations are the Silver Star, Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantrymans Badge [CIB].
Gus Sorenson has a Degree in History from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and currently resides in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. He is an avid Quad Rugby player and a life long, die hard, fan of the Chicago Cubs.
WOUNDED VETERAN TENDS VETERANS' WOUNDS
Crocker Stephenson | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 5, 2007
A man sits on a table. He is in pain.
Legs. Back. Feet. They all hurt. His spine, it's a mess. Pieces of his body buzz, tingle and ache.
His name is Sylvester Ranninger. He is 58 years old and lives in Oshkosh. He is a retired soldier, a Vietnam veteran.
The table on which Ranninger sits is in a treatment room on the 10th floor of the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in the spinal cord injury unit. The chief of that unit, Kenneth Lee, comes through the door.
Some vets, particularly those who fought in Vietnam, Korea and the Pacific Rim, one of the first things they notice about Lee is that he is Asian. He was born in South Korea and came to the United States with his family when he was 10.
You look like the people who tried to kill me, some have told him. You look like my enemy.
For Lee, remarks like that are a starting point. Doctor and patient talk. This is how healing, physical and mental, begins.
Lee inserts nine acupuncture needles into Ranninger's right ear. Nine in his left. Five near his lower back. Two about three-quarters of the way up his spine.
Lee has been punctured. Baghdad. Sept. 12, 2004. Lee, a colonel in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, was blown a couple of dozen yards through the air by a suicide car bomber. His arms and legs were riddled with shrapnel. His helmet was torn from his head.
His thumbs are a mess. His arms and legs are a mess. He forgets things. Sometimes a colleague who has known Lee for years will greet him, and Lee won't know him.
What Lee can't forget is the face of the man driving the car with the bomb. He remembers raising his rifle. He remembers that, before he could fire, a bullet turned the car's windshield into a web of cracked glass. He remembers an orange ball of flame.
Sometimes Lee has trouble putting his hand around a doorknob. Sometimes he has to get one of his kids to turn the ignition key so he can start his car.
"Everybody says I'm a changed person," he says. "But everyone who goes over there comes back a changed person."
In June, the Zablocki VA and the Wisconsin chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America hosted the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Milwaukee. Lee was instrumental in bringing the games to Milwaukee, and he was co-chairman of the event.
He is also one of the forces behind the $32.5 million spinal cord treatment facility coming to Zablocki in March.
Last month, Lee was named Milwaukee County Veteran of the Year. The games, the expansion at Zablocki, Lee's combat experience; they are all certainly reasons for the honor.
A man sits on a table in the spinal cord unit and Lee, who knows what it is to be wounded, eases his pain.
OPERATION HOMECOMING, Writing The Wartime Experience
Premiering April 16, 2007 on PBS | Written by American troops
A unique documentary that explores the firsthand accounts of American soldiers through their own words. The film is built upon a project created by the National Endowment for the Arts to gather the writing of soldiers and their families who have participated in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through interviews and dramatic readings, the film transforms selections from this collection of writing into a deep examination of the experiences of the men and women who are serving in America’s armed forces. At the same time it provides depth and context to these experiences through a broader look at the universal themes of war literature. (more...)
TRAINING YOUR OWN SERVICE DOG
Roxannne Furlong | New Mobility magazine | December 2006
Starting with three basic commands and generous time and attention -- and lots of biscuits and kisses -- you can train your four-legged friend to eventually become the best medical device you have. Owner-training the dog eliminates time wasted on training school waiting lists and creates a steady routine of challenging your dog to learn new tasks as your needs change. Depending on your lifestyle and dog knowledge, there are several ways to owner-train your service dog. (continues...)
A YOUNG SOLDIER’S FINAL JOURNEY
Mary Sanchez
The day Pfc. Shane Austin flew home was an ordinary day, as far as life at public airports go. Delays and cloud cover. Passengers scuttling to make flights. Some were relieved when they did; others were peeved at the frustration of it all – even after they were safely aboard.
The pilot broke the routine with an announcement.
A special flight, he advised. Please do the honor, wait to deplane.
Wait because Austin, a 19-year-old from the tiny town of Edgerton, Kansas, boarded the flight in a casket. He was below the passengers, as cargo. He died in early October in Iraq, trying to throw an enemy hand grenade from his tank.
Posthumously, Austin was given a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Posthumously, Austin silenced a planeload of people. He made them pause in a way that all Americans should – daily.
This is not a political statement. There will soon be enough of that. The fact that October was one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops in Iraq will be discussed by both parties, each hoping for election gains. Proper times and places for such political preening exist.
But not the day Austin came home. Not during his flight between Atlanta and Kansas City. The Army regularly uses commercial flights to send the bodies of soldiers home. The Army’s goal is noble; get the bodies reunited with families as quickly as possible. It is the right thing to do. And it happens right under our noses.
The pilot of Austin’s flight, a former Navy man, addressed this in his intercom remarks. He noted that people’s lives cross all the time, intersecting in ways that most of us are unaware. He asked his passengers to be aware that day. By boarding the flight, they became a part of a young soldier’s final journey.
When the plane landed, the passengers complied. They waited as the military escort for Austin got off the plane first, along with the captain. Then, instead of rushing for their baggage, nearly all lined up along the glass wall of the terminal and looked down to the tarmac.
They watched as the uniformed color guard unloaded the casket from the conveyor belt. A U.S. flag draped it. Austin’s mother hugged family members. Some passengers saluted. Some put their hand over their heart. Many cried.
A colleague of mine was on the flight. He felt ashamed for his own grumblings about airport delays before the captain told them of the flight’s precious cargo. He was returning from a weekend with his son, who was alive and well.
The death of soldiers like Austin is the fodder of small-town newspapers. There, they are front page news. In one Kansas community paper, Austin’s mother described him as a daredevil. She told how she first assumed the military officials at her doorstep were there to recruit her other sons, not to inform her of the death of her middle boy.
Austin’s death prompts the question, “What if we were aware of every soldier’s casket?” A nation at war should feel more at war. Yet for most of us, this is not the case.
Even with the unending commentary about the war on terror, the lives of most Americans resumed pretty much unchanged after Sept. 11. The very least we can do is pause when we board an airplane. Aboard might well be another soldier returning to his family.
Mary Sanchez is an opinion page columnist for The Kansas City Star. Her email address is msanchez@kcstar.com
Copyright 2006; reprinted with permission, Tribune Media Services, Inc."
PVA, YALE UNIVERSITY SEEK A CURE FOR PARALYSIS,
QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS FOR IRAQI FREEDOM VETERANS
Washington, DC—Every year, thousands of Americans incur partial or total paralysis due to spinal cord injuries or diseases such as multiple sclerosis. When it was founded 60 years ago, the founders of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) established that finding a cure for spinal cord injury and dysfunction would be a primary mission of the veterans’ service organization.
On September 25, 2006 Paralyzed Veterans and the Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research will collaborate on a day-long series of briefings and demonstrations at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven, CT. Dr. Stephen G. Waxman, MD, PhD, is the Center’s director and will deliver a Research Update, along with Dr. Jeffery Kocsis.
Paralyzed Veterans will make a check presentation to acknowledge a $250,000 FY 2005 donation. The veterans’ group, which is a founding member, has supported the Center since 1986.
The Center houses a multidisciplinary team of basic and clinical neuroscientists committed to the discovery of strategies that will restore and protect neurological function in people with compromised spinal cord function. Paralyzed Veterans, its leadership and its members are dedicated to serve as full partners with the Center as it pursues a cure for paralysis.
To schedule an interview with Dr. Waxman or PVA Research & Education Director Thomas Stripling, contact PVA’s David J. Uchic at (202) 416-7667.
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