Veterans from across the United States – and a team from Great Britain – travel to a new city hosting the National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG) each summer. Co-presented by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, veterans compete in 19 adaptive sports events during the week while mentoring and providing encouragement for new veterans.
This rehabilitation and wheelchair sports program empowers veterans with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, amputations, and other neurological injuries to live more active and healthy lives through wheelchair sports and recreation. The NVWG allows newly disabled veterans the opportunity to find out what is possible, while spectators at the event realize that limitations are only a state of mind.
The weeklong competition kicked off Sunday, July 16 in Cincinnati, OH. To ensure veterans’ equipment is cared for properly, Team Invacare was at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. to help unload veterans’ wheelchairs and adaptive sports equipment from airplanes.
The start of the NVWG was marked by an Expo on Monday, July 17. Veterans were able to see new products, test out equipment, and learn about opportunities that are available for them. The Invacare booth allowed veterans to experience küschall manual wheelchairs, the ROVI X3 power wheelchair, Invacare® Matrx® seating, Invacare® Top End® sports and recreation products, and the Invacare® TDX® SP2 power wheelchair with LiNX® technology set to launch in the 3rd quarter.
The NVWG t-shirts Invacare gave away during Expo day were a huge hit with veterans and their families. Veterans were also able to visualize their own custom küschall wheelchair with the küschall Fit4ü Precision Wheelchair Fitting Program and gain an understanding of its features and benefits.
Throughout the rest of the week, Team Invacare stayed busy in the Wheelchair Repair Room where they fixed and fine-tuned veterans’ equipment that may have been bumped out of place during travel, warm up, or competition. Fittings for küschall custom manual wheelchairs and Invacare Top End sports and recreation products were available throughout the week.
THANKS TO ALL THOSE INVOLVED WHO MADE THIS EVENT POSSIBLE!