After I was wounded I thought that there were a lot of things I would never be able to do again, skiing was one of them.  I was sure I would never ski again that I gave all of my skiing equipment away to my teammates.  The incredible people at Stride Adaptive Sports gave me the opportunity to ski again.  I cried the first time I went down the mountain.  After a long day on the slopes, my wife told me it was the happiest she had seen me in over four years.  This video is a great documentary about adaptive sports in the US.  The portion that shows me skiing is from 15:20 to 18:30.

I was honored to speak on Veterans Day in my native Saratoga County.  Every time I share my story it re-affirms to me the lessons learned from my experiences.  I encourage veterans to share their experiences and I encourage everyone to listen.

I am a firm believer that an experience is worth nothing unless you share it.  I was honored to be asked by the MIT/Harvard/Tufts ROTC to be the guest speaker at their annual military ball.  I had a great time sharing my lessons learned with our country’s future military leaders.  Check out the article below.

https://bostonnrotcseadawg.wordpress.com/type/image/

My recovery has been nothing short of amazing and miraculous.  I owe everything to God, my family, friends and community.  The support that everyone has provided me has been incredible.  Five days after I was wounded, my high school football team, La Salle Institute organized “Kevin Flike Night” and donated all proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project.  When I heard that this was taking place, I started crying in my hospital bed.  It meant the world to me that people cared so much.  I always kept this in mind during my recovery and whenever I wanted to give up I thought about all the people who believed in me.  This was one of the articles that announced “Kevin Flike Night” in the local papers.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Help-for-a-wounded-warrior-2195566.php

Transitioning from the military to the civilian world was harder than I thought.  I am grateful to have had such a supportive community at MIT Sloan to help with the transition.  This article talks about the MIT Sloan Veterans Association and the camaraderie and support the club provides for its members.  Very proud to go to a school that places such a high value on veterans and their experiences.

http://mitsloan.mit.edu/newsroom/2013-veterans.php