Buzzard Droppings June 2008

There is a specialty Veterans Rehab program in use through the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, based in Seattle.  It is called the Recreational Therapy Activities Program, managed by Julie Adams (206-277-6687).  This program provides sponsorship of recreational activities for disabled veterans as an opportunity for these wounded men and women to participate in outdoor activities and competition to prove to themselves that they can still do whatever they want to, in spite of their disabilities. 

Examples of some of these are:

1.  The National Wheelchair Games  to be held in Nebraska this year and in Spokane, WA in 2009.  A team from the Seattle VA hospital will be sent to these games.  It costs from $1000 to $1500 to do this for each person.

2.  Winter Sports Clinic to be held in Colorado.  This involves skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, sledding and other winter sports activities.

3.  Locally, a River Run and Kayaking program is in place.  Water training is currently underway at a pool in Burien.  The training will then graduate to outdoor lakes then to rivers.  They need equipment and/or cash to get this new program going.

4. Also locally, at the American Lake VA Hospital in Tacoma, a program called Adaptive Wheelchair Golf is being conducted.

All of these programs are volunteer supported, but administered by the VA staff and volunteers..  All donated funds are deposited into a separate bank account, NOT co-mingled with normal VA funding.  Every dollar goes to support the program of choice.

Ms Adams also expressed interest in being able to send patients to our field for a recreational flying opportunity as a therapeutic activity.  Just another way we could help these young men and women.  WHY NOT?