Bruce Sanders recently made his 11th trip to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, bringing home some shiny hardware as souvenirs.
Sanders, 57, a Webb native and paralyzed Marine Corps veteran, won four medals at this year’s 39th annual Games, held July 11-16 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Competing in the Masters Division, Sanders received two gold medals for first-place wins in bowling and slalom, a silver for his second-place finish in Boccia ball, and a bronze for third place in wheelchair rally.
Sanders competed in power soccer but did not place.
Bruce Sanders competes in an event at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games
Still, he noted, “The Lord blessed me,” adding, “I always give God the glory in all things. I think I did very well.”
In addition to the competition and camaraderie he enjoys, Sanders was proud this year to be joined at the Games by his brother and sister-in-law, Jimmy and Gina Sanders of Radcliff, Kentucky, and his niece, Ramona Vasta, who lives in Louisville.
“Every day, they were right there with me, cheering me on,” he noted. His caregiver, Anna Wright, was there, too.
Sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, these Games are billed as “the largest wheelchair sports event in the entire world.”
The 2019 Games featured nearly 600 athletes. There was competition in 20 events.
All of the participants are military veterans who are confined to wheelchairs due to spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, amputations and other neurological injuries.
Sanders is a quadriplegic who was paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury in 1998 caused by transverse myelitis while he was serving in the Marines.
Today, he is a resident of Ruleville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Ruleville.
While he appreciates the staff and fellow residents there, Sanders said he is “glad to have the opportunity to travel and do things that, being paralyzed, I would not be able to do otherwise without this sort of event. I’d probably just be right here in this nursing home.”
Sanders, who is responsible for providing 25 percent of the personal cost to attend the Games, relies on donations.
“I’m always looking for new sponsors,” he said.
To reach out to him, call Sanders at 662-902-7578 or email bhslee61@yahoo.com.
IN THE PHOTO: Bruce Sanders sports four medals he won at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. (Photo special to The Sun-Sentinel
