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Segways speed soldiers along

“I’m definitely getting one,” said Leah Cuffe, glancing at the Segway her fiancé, MCpl Mike Trauner, just received. “Mike was injured not quite a year ago and this is the first activity we’ve really done as a couple. Now we can go out for a walk together; it will help compensate for other things we can’t do together anymore.”

MCpl Trauner and six other soldiers received Segways, donated by WoundedWarriors.ca, November 5 at the Holland Armoury in Ottawa. The personal mobility devices run on battery power and offer more freedom and independence to soldiers who have been injured.

Securing the Segways was an initiative of Leslie Natynczyk, the CF champion of morale and welfare programs. In 2008, she accompanied her husband, General Walt Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff, to Washington D.C. While he was busy with meetings, she visited the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

“When he goes off to the conferences, I like to go and see what kind of family support programs they have in place,” she explained. “I spoke to some of the wounded fellows there and that’s when I heard about Segs4Vets.”

Segs4Vets is an American charity that provides Segways to injured military personnel. Mrs. Natynczyk felt the idea had merit and suggested it to several Canadian soldiers on her return home.

“I was kind of sceptical at first,” said Major Mark Campbell, who lost both his legs to an IED blast last year in Afghanistan.“I thought it looked more like a play thing than a means of mobility. In all reality though, this is going to make a tremendous difference to my personal mobility and, through that, to my independence.”

Corporal Andrew Knisley, of 1 Battalion, 1 Royal Canadian Regiment, agrees that the Segway will be a helpful tool for him, particularly at work. “It requires a lot of energy to walk, especially for those of us with prosthetics,” he said, gesturing at the prosthesis replacing his right leg that was amputated above the knee.“The Segway really saves energy so you can still function when you get where you’re going.”

Mrs. Natynczyk was delighted to see Cpl Knisley zooming around on his Segway. “When I first met him, he didn’t have his prosthesis yet. He was standing on one foot, shooting hoops and then going after the basketball,” she said with a smile in his direction. “I couldn’t have done that.”

Mark Heniser, a physical therapist who works at the Center for the Intrepid, a traumatic injury rehabilitation centre in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, made the trip north to help train the soldiers on how to use their new Segways.

“We started with the basics, getting it out of the box, assembling it, turning it on,” he explained. “Then, we had to work on getting on and off and figuring out what works best for each individual soldier’s injury.”

Although they only officially received their Segways November 5, they spent the previous day learning how to manoeuvre them. The day of training was long and strenuous, but enjoyable. “They were absolutely exhausted yesterday, but still smiling,” said Mrs. Natynczyk. After they got used to the feel of the Segways, Mr. Heniser ran them through various activities and exercises, including an obstacle course of pylons, so that they would be able to make the most of their new mobility.

As they take their new Segways back to their homes, the soldiers are excited to start exploring the options that are now open to them. Cpl Knisley expects he’ll use his Segway to get around at work, mostly. MCpl Trauner used to ride his bike to work to get around traffic. Now, he’ll ride his Segway instead. And Major Campbell, well, he can’t wait to go hunting, he says.