The 2016 Paralympic Games will be held in Rio this year, from September 7^th through 18^th.  Although the last games in 2014 (Winter Games in Sochi, Russia)  were the first to receive over 50 hours of US television coverage, the International Paralympic Games themselves date back to the first competition in Rome in 1960.

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Regas Woods – Track & Field Paralympian

Some of you might remember our Inspirations Blog Post in October of 2013, about Regas Woods and Nick Stilwell, co-founders of the Never Say Never Foundation, encouraging disabled youth to overcome adversity and, through adaptive sports, show that anything is possible!

Regas was born with a congenital leg anomaly which didn’t allow his tibia and fibula to develop.  Both legs were amputated at the age of two. After the amputation, he was told he would never be able to run, drive a car or even work.  His goal:  prove them wrong!  And he has!  Regas “Legz” Woods  holds the world record for fastest bilateral above the knee amputee. Last October, he broke the US record in the 200m.

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Sgt. Kirstie Ennis entered the Marine Corps at the age of 17, planning on a  20-year-long career in the armed forces. She knew from the beginning that she wanted to work on helicopters.

Kirstie Ennis – April 2016

Six years later, in June 2012, during her second tour of duty in Afghanistan, she was in a helicopter with her fellow soldiers, going to resupply ammunition, transport soldiers and help those near the mosque overthrown in Musa Qala, Afghanistan.  Suddenly they realized something was wrong – a crash was imminent.

The helicopter hit the ground, shattering to pieces.  Ennis’ body was shattered too – she tried to stand but her leg couldn’t support her, her mouth was full of blood, the teeth on the right side of her face and her jaw were gone.  Because of damage to her brain, she couldn’t be given any pain medication.  She was transported by helicopter to a British hospital where a plastic surgeon worked on her.  With the objective of getting her strong enough to go back to the US, she underwent almost 40 surgeries in various countries outside of Afghanistan.  Her first return to the US was to Washington DC and finally she was transported to a medical center in San Diego.
For the first few months in the hospitals, she couldn’t eat, drink or do anything by herself. Because her brain shook so much when the helicopter went down, Kirstie’s injuries were mental as well as physical – her memory and comprehension abilities were affected. .  (source: http://www.people.com/article/kirstie-ennis-marine-veteran-recovery-story)

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When Prince Harry attended the Warrior Games in Colorado in 2013, he saw how the power of sports could help wounded warriors physically, socially and psychologically.  He envisioned bringing this power to an international level. 

The first Invictus Games took place September 10-14, 2014 in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Over 400 competitors from 13 nations competed in 9 sports. (read more about the 2014 Invictus Games).

The 2014 Invictus Games helped to remove stigma around physical injuries and Prince Harry  hopes this year’s Invictus Games can do the same for invisible injuries. He and President George W. Bush hosted a symposium on Invisible Wounds at this year’s Games in Orlando, aiming to destigmatize post-traumatic stress.

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