Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders program helps Veterans achieve their goals

Here’s how VA’s Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders program helped an 87-year-old Veteran finish strong.

After 22 years in the Army, serving in Vietnam and as a logistics specialist worldwide, Veteran Mark Maloney maintained an active lifestyle.

“I was very active from the age of 55. I started entering races, first to lower my cholesterol and then I got to a point where it became addictive. I was running two to three races a week for a long time and doing good,” Maloney shared.

Then Maloney lost control of his bike during a routine ride through the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado and suffered a catastrophic C3 spinal cord injury, classifying him as a person with quadriplegia. The doctors told him he would likely never walk again, but Maloney refused to give up hope.  

Once out of the hospital, Maloney began working with physical therapists from the SCI/D Center at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA in Aurora, Colorado. Three years later, he worked up the ability to walk a kilometer with the assistance of the Lite Run device.  

The Lite Run is a special walker that uses negative air pressure to relieve the weight of the user’s body so they can walk easily. The device was invented to improve mobility and increase the quality of life in disabled patients who benefit from additional assistance.  

“It’s incredible. It gets people who can’t walk or who think they can’t walk to see what they can really do,” Maloney said.

In May, Maloney walked the last kilometer of the BOLDERBoulder race with the assistance of the Lite Run and his VA physical therapists. As he entered Folsom Stadium for the final stretch toward the finish line, Maloney and his story were broadcast to the entire crowd on the big screen, where he was met with a hero’s welcome of cheers.  

“When you run a race, what you’re trying to do is finish strong. I’m 87. That’s the way I want to look at my life. I want to finish strong,” he said.

Read more about VA’s SCI/D Program Office in the Clinical Services 2023 annual report.