Phillip Sherwood

US Paralympics Archery-Sherwood

The US Paralympic Military Training Camp was a great experience and not only for the athletic exposure to various activities but interacting with all the veterans with disabilities. The US Army Ft. Sam Houston Garrison donated the airline tickets and lodging. The US Paralympic Center from Colorado Springs provided all the adaptive equipment, coaches and actual team members to provide instruction. The Army provided soldier helpers to assist with everything. There were also several sponsors that donated money and services to put on the camp at no cost to the participants.

The days were very long and strenuous but sleep at night came quick and deep. There was only about 30 minutes to an hour of personal time in the evening before having to go to sleep. There was one quadriplegic and his sport was tennis. Since he couldn’t grip the racquet, they taped it to his hand. The next most debilitating injury and newest was mine.

The events I participated in were wheelchair tennis, basketball, kayaking, archery and handcycling. I elected out of the floor volleyball and horseback equestrian events. I like horsepower but not horses. I didn’t do the floor volleyball to not risk any skin breakdown issues. I couldn’t do the sculling (team rowing) because my level of injury required more control of the lower abdominal muscles and better trunk stability. Fridays activities took place in Austin, TX and I don’t there’s a single one of us who isn’t whooped. I met a lot of great people. Wednesday night we all went to the horse track and really enjoyed it. We all pushed our own limits and were constantly doing problem solving. All the disabled helped one another with each’s shortcomings and taught a lot of the volunteer staff how to assist someone in a wheelchair. As for me, I learned a lot from this trip about myself and new “awakenings” from within. This camp required serious independence and adaptability. I learned new activities I can do either solo or with “walkers”. We packed six months of workouts into three days. My upper body is super fatigued and sore. Many of the walkers put themselves into wheelchairs for some of the events. Of the five spinal cord injured participants, only the quad from Kentucky and myself had no use of our lower extremities.

All but one in wheelchairs were struggling with weight issues. When asking amputees if they’d rather have their limbs back even if they didn’t work and be confined to a wheelchair they weren’t too hip with the idea however they do miss seeing their missing limbs. None in the group seemed dependent on someone or massive medication. All were in great spirits but two whiners who probably like that before their injuries. Tonight are the closing ceremonies and dinner then Saturday morning will be my flight to Washington DC at 6am. Although this was an absolutely awesome experience, I plan to keep my day job; at least for a little bit longer while I continue training my replacement.