PN Demo - 16

a closer

LOOK
SUSAN FISHBEIN help. She receives continuing medical care at the White River Junction VA Medical Center in Vermont. In September, Kaatz was a first-time participant at the 3rd National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, in San Diego. Throughout the week, she tried surfing, wall. She was fearless as she made her way up, sometimes only an inch at a time. Below, almost every participant of the Olympus and Calypso teams, coaches, instructors, and volunteers were looking up and cheering her on, encouraging her with sheer will and a community of love and support. She was determined—and she made it to the top. As Kaatz descended, a team member presented her with a bouquet of wildflowers, and her new nickname became “Princess.” She may not have been able to speak like everyone else, but her eyes and smile spoke a thousand happy words. The absence of vocal language does not mean Kaatz can’t say what’s on her mind. She is a bright, thoughtful woman with a great sense of humor. To commu-

Try the Unknown
Ellen Kaatz is a 35-year-old Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) U.S. Navy veteran from New Hampshire who was a nurse at Bremerton Naval Hospital for three years. While working at Groton

At home, she is the “different” one. At the Summer Sports Clinic, everyone fits right in.
Outpatient Clinic in Connecticut, she started developing symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Today, Kaatz uses a wheelchair, cannot speak without a specially adapted computer, and depends on others for
JEFF BOWEN

kayaking, cycling, rock-wall climbing, and other activities she never thought she would be able to do. I watched Kaatz midweek as, using her limited arm strength as a pump to slowly and steadily lift herself up, she clung to the ropes at the rock-climbing

“You have to take a huge leap of faith to get in the pounding surf with people you met five minutes before,” says Ellen Kaatz about her experience as a first-timer at the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic this past September.

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December 2010

PN Demo

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PN Demo

PN Demo
Contents
Contributors
PVA President's Message
PVA Chapter Roster
Reasons & Remarks Redivivus
Readers Respond
Access Through Architecture
A Closer Look
When It's More Than "The Blues"
Putting on a Brave Face
Depression After SCI: Myths and Facts
PN Demo - PN Demo
PN Demo - Cover2
PN Demo - 3
PN Demo - Contents
PN Demo - 5
PN Demo - Contributors
PN Demo - 7
PN Demo - PVA President's Message
PN Demo - PVA Chapter Roster
PN Demo - Reasons & Remarks Redivivus
PN Demo - Readers Respond
PN Demo - Access Through Architecture
PN Demo - 13
PN Demo - 14
PN Demo - 15
PN Demo - A Closer Look
PN Demo - 17
PN Demo - 18
PN Demo - When It's More Than "The Blues"
PN Demo - Putting on a Brave Face
PN Demo - 21
PN Demo - Depression After SCI: Myths and Facts
PN Demo - 23
PN Demo - 24
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