Vision impaired vet takes second in archery event

[Thernlund]

Vision impaired vet takes second in archery event

by Kristena Hansen - May. 2, 2009 07:14 AM
The Arizona Republic

Out of 20 disabled athletes who competed in archery in the recent 19th annual Desert Challenge Games, the only one with a visual impairment, Sgt. Mark Schrand of Mesa, managed to place second.

The Iraq war veteran was nervous at first to be around a crowd of people, a symptom of his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But with his wife cheering him on, Schrand felt like he made a huge step toward recovery.

"It's an accomplishment that I can actually still do some of the things I used to," Schrand said. "It really surprised me."

In 2004, Schrand was riding in the back of a truck when a roadside bomb sent a dime-size piece of scrap metal burning through his goggles and stabbing him in the left eye. But still, the father of two young sons has no regrets.

"I feel like I never finished what I started," he said. "I feel kind of robbed of my time."

Now blind in that eye and with vision in his right eye fading, Schrand is determined to take archery to the highest possible level.

Full article:  http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/05/01/20090501mr-woundedvet0502.html


-T.

[GeorgeHill]

 
That's awesome.