Camp helps injured vets get back to nature

WINSLOW – Neal Williams was blown off an armored personnel carrier while on patrol in Vietnam in 1968. His back was broken in seven places, his neck in two. These days, he gets around in a wheelchair.

On Saturday, however, he traded his wheelchair for an Old Town canoe.

“I’ve done bicycle riding, rifle shooting and we’re going to be doing canoeing and kayaking,” Williams said Saturday before paddling around Pattee Pond.

Veterans No Boundaries was developed three years ago by Maine Handicapped Skiing, Maine’s largest adaptive recreation program for adults and children with physical disabilities.

In the No Boundaries programs, military veterans and active personnel with physical disabilities can participate in a variety of adaptive sports at no cost, said Wendy Isleman, development and public relations director for Maine Handicapped Skiing.

Summer activities for wounded vets and active duty personnel participating in Veterans No Boundaries includes cycling, kayaking, fishing, golf, martial arts and wheelchair tennis.

Isleman said this summer’s group consists of 12 military men and women with physical disabilities, which can include the effects of stroke, brain injury and amputation. Some are combat related, some are not.

When building the program, organizers thought they would be serving lots of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. But many of those injured military personnel are still in rehabilitation.

“We’re positioning ourselves to be the recreation program for people coming back from the newer conflicts. We’re going to obviously be seeing more combat-related injuries in the next four or five years,” she said.

Joanne Mcmahon, of Brunswick, and Bob Kroll, of Portland, both registered nurses, are medical volunteers for the program.

“It’s an amazing program,” Mcmahan said. “You hear the stories from the vets, what this has done for them, how this program has opened doors to other things in their lives.”