The
Invictus Games ~ the 'brainchild' of Prince Harry,
began
in England in 2014; the second edition was in Orlando, Florida in
2016.
And
Toronto wonderfully hosted the 2017 Invictus Games
from
September 23 to September 30.
Invictus...a
Latin word, means 'Unconquered'!
The event was an amazing success: Both the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies, held at the Air Canada Centre, were the largest in
attendance since the Games' inception...over 550 athletes
participated in the 12 sports (90 of them Canadian)...all having
suffered physically and/or mentally. They came from 17
countries...tickets were completely sold out for all games. As they
entered the ACC, each country proudly carried their representative
flags...Veterans, broken in combat, some in wheelchairs, others with
canes, some limping and others with artificial limbs. Speeches were
crisp and inspiring for all.
Signs around the Centre carried a message ~
I Am ~taking
the 2nd
I
in Invictus and the AM
from
Games!
Invictus Games Showcase High-Tech Prosthetics
The Invictus Games are not only focusing attention on military
veterans and the life-altering injuries they have suffered, but the
event is shining a spotlight on some cutting-edge technology that
allows them to compete and go forward with their everyday lives.
From bionic prosthetics to “smart” braces that return mobility to
those who have lost a limb or injured their spine, there has been an
explosion of innovative assistive devices aimed at improving the
lives of both soldiers injured in combat or training accidents and
civilians who become disabled through trauma or disease.
Retired
master corporal Mike (Michael) Trauner
is among those being helped in the rehab devices field. In his case,
an 'intelligent'
lower limb prosthetic that uses high-tech sensors, anticipate and
help him execute his movements. In December 2008, he was part of a
200-man-foot patrol in Afghanistan, when he was caught in a blast
from a remote-controlled IED that blew off parts of both legs,
shattered the bones in his left arm and hand and sent shrapnel
rocketing into his eyes. “In
an instant, my life was irrevocably altered ,”
said the 19-year veteran, a member of the 3rd
Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment, Canadian Light Infantry.
“When I got injured, everything's taken away... from walking to
standing to running to sitting,”
said Trauner, 38 of Pembroke, Ontario. He and his wife had to move
to a 'wheelchair-friendly' home and traded his vehicle for one that
was wheelchair accessible and operated with hand controls. But
technology...in the form of prosthetics made by a German-based
company Ottobock, has given him back his life.Trauner wears an
Ottobock X3 prosthetic on his left residual limb, which was amputated
above the knee, that contains a micropressor that mimics the movement
of the missing joint.
“I'm walking and it thinks as I'm walking. It's almost like it's
artificial intelligence.
It knows what I'm doing all the time...so
it makes it very safe to walk.”
For his right leg, which was amputated below the knee, he dons an
Ottobock Harmony prosthetic that doesn't incorporate a microprocessor,
as he's able to bend the knee naturally. In all, the devices set him
back more than $30,000...but their benefits are priceless.
“They
gave me the ability to basically be human again,”
said Trauner
who competed this week at the Invictus Games, coming fifth in
hand-cycling
and taking double-gold in stationary rowing, both sports performed
without his prosthetics.
Liz
Steeves, 32, is another Invictus Games participant who
is benefitting from advances in the rehab devices field, in her case
a motorized “dermoskeleton ”that straps on her leg and allows her
to engage
in
everyday activities. In 2010 as a mobile support equipment operator
in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Steeves was injured ~ she fell
almost four metres, headfirst off a wall during a training exercise
and crushed a few vertebrae in her upper spine and broke another in
her lower back. Her mobility grew worse and later she was diagnosed
with a crushed kneecap. Steeves, who lives in Sooke, B.C. was
medically released from the RCAF last year because of her injuries.
But that all changed when her leg was fitted with a Keeogo, a $50,000
device made by B-TEMIA in. In Quebec...which uses sensors at the
knee and hip joints to detect movement the person wants to make, then
provides the assistance needed to execute the motion. “The
Keeogo allows me to have more of a life,”
she said, adding that when her submariner engineering husband goes to
sea, I
can go out and cut the lawn and I don't have to worry about falling
over,”said
Steeves who was competing this week in wheelchair tennis.
There's no real limitations.
If you basically dream it, you can at least attempt it.
You may not be able to do it...but at least you tried!”
For
Natacha, Invictus Means Much MoreThan a Medal!
Natacha Dupuis's return to sports started with a mountain bike. The
former master corporal served several Canadian Forces regiments,
including the Royal Canadian Dragoons, for over 16 years. She did a
tour in Bosnia and two in Aghanistan ~ the last which saw her witness
the deaths of two comrades. Her diagnosis of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) came after her return home. And her symptoms didn't
just include psychological difficulties ~ she was in physical pain
,too. Dupuis said she'd always been athletic, but found herself
gaining weight.
So, “Soldier On” a Canadian Forces program to help rehabilitate
injured veterans, gave her a mountain bike ~ a gift that Dupuis said
started her road to recovery. “Mountain biking was part of my
journey,” said the Gatineau, Quebec resident. Three years after she
left the miltary, Dupuis is one of Team Canada's co-captains at the
Invictus Games in Toronto.
Dupuis
was part of Team Canada in Orlando last year.
She
ran ~ and won gold ~ in both the 100-metre and 200-metre dash,
and picked up a bronze in powerlifting.
Invictus Games Turned Injured War Veteran's Life Around
When Skelly Scanlan first signed up for the Invictus Games ~ after
serving in Afghanistan ~ she didn't realize the sporting event for
wounded soldiers would pull her out of years of physical and mental
injuries. Scanlon first joined the Canadian Forces at age of 16, to
train for deployment to Afghanistan at 18. During her training ,she
suffered her first injury, a completely torn ligament in her leg.She
decided to push through the pain and deploy anyway, and at age 19
she left to spend 8 months on tour as an infantry soldier in
Afghanistan.
“I
stopped going to doctors because none of them seemed to have an
answer for me,”
said Scanlon. “I figured this was just how it was going to be...so
powered through!.”
But, when she returned home, the injury had worsened. Because the
tear changed how Scanlan moved entirely, it shifted the entire right
side of her body. She had trouble using stairs and was less active.
Doctors told her she might never fully recover. It was about then,
the Mental effects of her situation started piling up. “It was a
day here or there, then it became a week, and then it became months
at a time... then she was diagnosed with PTSD injury and depression a
year after returning home.
Around that time, Scanlon said she briefly cycled with Wounded
Warriors,
a national charity supporting soldiers and noticed an improvement
in her condition when she trained.
The 'Big Change' came when another wounded veteran convinced her to
sign up for the Invictus Games in Toronto. He stated, “After you
sign up...and there's going to be a lot of people watching, you don't
want to disappoint your community and country!”
“Through
training, the pain I was in was significantly reduced.
I was sleeping better, I was feeling better and less anxious about
things,” she said
“And
my life took a complete turn for the better!”
Almost 7 years after returning from Afghanistan injured, Kelly said
her life is proof that the battle to compete in Invictus Games can
change lives. Although told by her doctor she'd never wear a uniform
again, this summer she was hired as a new recruit at her local fire
department!
(The foregoing are excerpts from The Canadian Press)
Lincoln an Invictus Games Competitor
Sergeant (Retired) Tyron Lincoln of Burlington, Ontario, is one of 90
Canadians participating in the 2017 Invictus Games. He was a
Geomatics Technician with the Canadian Army and is competing in track
and field, cycling and wheelchair rugby. Lincoln is one of 13 member
of the Canadian Military Engineers Association competing in
Toronto. He credits his grandmother as his inspiration. “She was
my mother and father who shaped me into the determined man I am
today,” he said. A photo in The Burlington Post shows him
wheelchair-practising his prowess in preparation for the Games.
Next Year's Invictus Games are Scheduled for Sydney, Australia.
And as Prince Harry said to all the competitors,
“See
You All There...and More!”
“I
think the INVICTUS GAMES is something the world needs to know about ~
what it does for the competitor,
what it does for the families,
what it does for the wounded warriors and their support system,
which is nothing short of phenomenal.
Now people need to know about it.” (John Cena)
Composed by Merle Baird-Kerr...October 2, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment