“VA Photos of the Week” highlight the connections made between our employees and the Veterans they serve every day at VA medical centers, regional offices, and national cemeteries across the country.
This week, photographers from Phoenix, Dallas and Milwaukee shared their best images with us.
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Soldier Strong, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing advanced medical technologies to Veterans, recently donated an EksoGT Suit exoskeleton to the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
U.S. Army Reserve Veteran Dan Rose, who was paralyzed from the chest down when a 1,100-pound improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated near him while on patrol in Afghanistan, demonstrated the exoskeleton that will be used by patients. “I had given up on walking and thought of it as a pipe dream, so to be able to stand on my own two feet and walk across a room was a very emotional experience,” said Rose. “The first time I stood up I realized I’d forgotten what it was like to be eye level with everyone, it was like standing on top of a mountain.”
The donation marks the organization’s 20th exoskeleton donation. It is the 16th exoskeleton donation to the VA system. “The contribution marks a significant milestone. It represents a doubling of our initial commitment to donate 10 such high-tech medical devices to benefit our country’s injured Veterans,” said Chris Meek, SoldierStrong co-founder. “We’re extremely proud to help as many Veterans as we can so that they will experience the physical and emotional benefits of standing and walking again.”
Photo by Stacy Jonsgaard
The Junior League of Milwaukee Singers made their annual visit on Monday, April 29 to the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, covering such classics as “Where The Boys Are,” “One Fine Day,” and “Da Doo Ron Ron.” They performed at the Adult Day Health Care program (Vets Club) and the Community Living Center.
Photo by Jim Hoehn
Daniel Balcom, Prosthetist at VA North Texas, works on a new prosthetic socket for a Veteran at Dallas VA Medical Center after completing the lamination process with a custom design. The Veteran selected the design from a T-shirt for his new prosthetic leg.
Dallas VA Medical is one of more than 70 locations that offer custom fabrication and fitting of the latest state-of-the-art O&P component.
Photo by Jennifer Roy
U.S. Navy Veteran Robbie Green practices track and field events for the upcoming 2019 National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The games will be held in Louisville from July 11-16. Robbie served in the Navy from 1977-1981 and was stationed in Norfolk as a Boiler Technician aboard USS Seattle. Robbie started participating in the Wheelchair games in 2012.
Photo by Jennifer Roy
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