Segways For Soldiers

Alabama Foley A Foley soldier who lost his left leg to an IED blast in Iraq can now get around without a wheelchair thanks to a program that donates Segways to injured veterans.

by Amy Dominello, Media General News Service, adominello@mediageneral.com

Published: Thu, May 08, 2008 - 9:54 am CST Last Updated: Thu, July 31, 2008 - 12:52 am CST

ARLINGTON, Va. – As his wife tells it, Jimmy Kinsey is strong-willed.

Kinsey, a native of Foley, Ala., fought to hang onto his left leg for a year and a half after he was injured in an IED blast in Iraq. The 23-year-old’s left leg was amputated below the knee in July.

He has a prosthetic leg, but walking on it for long distances bothers him.

“He’s really stubborn,” said Kinsey’s wife Karie Fugett. “He doesn’t like to be in wheelchairs.”

Now, he’ll have a way to keep up. On Tuesday, Kinsey and about 30 other Iraqi war veterans were given Segways through the Segs4Vets program.

The program started in 2005 for service members who lost limbs or suffered disabling injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is funded by the non-profit group Disability Rights Advocates for Technology.

A Segway offers more mobility without having to be in a wheelchair, said Jerry Kerr, a cofounder of both DRAFT and the Segs4Vets program. A Segway keeps the user at eye-level, which is a physical and psychological boost to users.

“Our goal is for them to be standing and for them to enjoy the benefits of standing,” he said.

Segways are used primarily by people without disabilities, but Kerr said the best use of the machine is for people who have difficulty walking. A badge indicating the user is handicapped is strapped to the front of the Segway, so users aren’t bothered in places they might not typically be allowed.

Most of the war veterans took to the Segways easily. As they balanced along the Segway’s small platform held atop two wheels, they grasped the handlebars and zoomed around the Sheraton Hotel, where they were set up to practice.

Kathy Segar, owner of Annapolis Segway Tours, introduced Steven Curry to his “new best friend” and ran down the basics with him: how to step on to the machine, how to turn and how to stop. She reassured him that the machine – which goes up to 12 mph - won’t fall backward or forward. And he can go off-roading with it on dirt, grass or gravel.

“It’s just like a bike,” Segar told Curry, a Salisbury, N.C. native who now lives in Ashburn, Va.

“This is wild,” said Curry, 25, as he started rolling.

After taking the Segway for a spin outside, he was sore from standing but traveled much farther than he could on his own.

“It’s a lot better than trying to walk that far,” said Curry, who lost his left leg below the knee due to an IED explosion. “I think we went 3 or 4 miles and it didn’t take us that long.”

All the money raised for Segs4Vets goes to the all-volunteer program, Kerr said. Each Segway – along with training the user and shipping -- costs the group about $6,200.

By the end of the year, the growing program hopes to have doled out more than 250 Segways in all.

Many of the veterans who receive the Segways are headed back to school and had faced long walks across campus. Others say it will be much easier to keep up with their children and do their jobs.

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