Paralyzed Veterans of America Releases Statement Following Department of Veterans Affairs' Announcement Not to Pursue Large-Scale Reduction-in-Force
'The VA indicated today that its workforce would see a reduction of approximately 30,000 staff from its starting level at the beginning of FY2025 to the end of this fiscal year in September. PVA's highest priority remains the timely delivery of high-quality health care and earned benefits for veterans with spinal cord injuries or diseases, like ALS and MS. Our concerns are not simply about numbers on an org chart but rather the quality of life, independence, and well-being of our nation's veterans.
'We look forward to continuing to work with VA Secretary Collins and his team on their commitment to deliver the best outcomes for all veterans and ensure the availability of resources needed to fill any gaps. As PVA shared with Secretary Collins earlier this year, there are opportunities for meaningful realignment of resources within VA, even if that means reduction in areas that do not improve upon mission delivery for VA.'
About Paralyzed Veterans of AmericaParalyzed Veterans of America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and the only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated solely for the benefit and representation of veterans with spinal cord injury or diseases. The organization ensures veterans receive the benefits earned through service to our nation; monitors their care in VA spinal cord injury units; and funds research and education in the search for a cure and improved care for individuals with paralysis.As a life-long partner and advocate for veterans and all people with disabilities, PVA also develops training and career services, works to ensure accessibility in public buildings and spaces, and provides health and rehabilitation opportunities through sports and recreation. With more than 70 offices and 33 chapters, Paralyzed Veterans of America serves veterans, their families, and their caregivers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Learn more at PVA.org.
Contact: Oname Thompson 703-864-5980 cellOnameT@PVA.org
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12 hours ago
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‘A voice told me not to be afraid': The story of Lourdes' 72nd recognized miracle
Antonia Raco, a 67-year-old Italian woman long affected by an incurable neurodegenerative illness, was officially introduced to the press on July 25 in Lourdes, where her healing was recognized as the 72nd miracle attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary since the apparitions of 1858. Jul 27, 2025 Pilgrims light candles at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. | Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA By Solène Tadié Antonia Raco, a 67-year-old Italian woman long affected by an incurable neurodegenerative illness, was officially introduced to the press on July 25 in Lourdes, where her healing was recognized as the 72nd miracle attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary since the apparitions of 1858. Diagnosed in 2006 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — a progressive and fatal condition — Raco experienced a recovery that defied medical explanation.? First announced by the Sanctuary of Lourdes on April 16 this year, the recognition marked the culmination of 16 years of medical, canonical, and pastoral inquiry. Raco, a mother and active parishioner from Basilicata in southern Italy, had been living with the disease for several years when she traveled to Lourdes in 2009. 'I had wanted to go to Lourdes since I was a child,' she recalled. That wish came true that summer, when she and her husband Antonio travelled to the shrine with the Italian pilgrimage association Unitalsi. The experience, however, was not exactly as she had once imagined: She arrived in a wheelchair, already struggling to breathe and swallow. On the second day, sanctuary volunteers brought her to the baths. 'We prayed together. That's when I heard a beautiful young female voice say three times: 'Don't be afraid!'' she recounted during the press conference in Lourdes, held in the presence of religious and medical authorities. Raco wore the white veil and uniform of the Hospitallers of Lourdes — the volunteer caregivers she now joins each year, assisting the sick with the same compassion once shown to her. 'At that moment, I burst into tears and prayed for the intentions I had brought with me.' She described a sudden, sharp pain in her legs during immersion, as though 'they were taken away from me.' She did not disclose what had happened to anyone during her stay and returned home in a wheelchair. It was there, in her living room with her husband Antonio, that she again heard the same voice urging her, 'Tell him! Call him!' Obeying the voice, she called out to her husband, who had just stepped into the kitchen. 'Something has happened,' she told him. In that moment, she stood unaided for the first time in years. Overcome with emotion, the couple embraced, crying together as they realized she was cured. Though overjoyed, Raco was initially unsure of how to speak about her experience. 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Following the positive medical vote, the case was referred to the current bishop of Antonia Raco's home diocese, Vincenzo Carmine Orofino, who formally recognized the miracle on April 16 of this year.? Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes, who participated in the scientific process without voting, praised the rigor and transparency of the medical discussions. 'What impressed me most,' he said, 'was the freedom of the experts. They are not there to defend a cause, but to seek the truth.' He also reminded the participants that miracles never impose faith. 'Even the Resurrection did not force anyone to believe,' he said. 'A miracle is a sign — a gift to be received in the light of faith.' Closing the press briefing, the rector of the sanctuary, Fr. Michel Daubanes, expressed deep emotion and gratitude as he recalled the honor of announcing the miracle during the 6 p.m. rosary on Holy Thursday, April 17, just minutes before it was proclaimed at the cathedral of Tursi-Lagonegro. ' We often say: 'If I saw a miracle, I would believe.' But the truth is: if I believe, I can see miracles,' he reflected. 'This healing is not just a story from the past. It is a living testimony that continues to bear fruit.' --CNA
Malaysian Reserve
07-07-2025
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Paralyzed Veterans of America Releases Statement Following Department of Veterans Affairs' Announcement Not to Pursue Large-Scale Reduction-in-Force
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Paralyzed Veterans of America Chief Executive Officer Carl Blake releases statement following the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announcement that it will no longer pursue a large-scale reduction-in-force as part of its efforts to reduce VA staffing, while also improving the delivery of health care, benefits, and burial services to veterans. 'The VA indicated today that its workforce would see a reduction of approximately 30,000 staff from its starting level at the beginning of FY2025 to the end of this fiscal year in September. PVA's highest priority remains the timely delivery of high-quality health care and earned benefits for veterans with spinal cord injuries or diseases, like ALS and MS. Our concerns are not simply about numbers on an org chart but rather the quality of life, independence, and well-being of our nation's veterans. 'We look forward to continuing to work with VA Secretary Collins and his team on their commitment to deliver the best outcomes for all veterans and ensure the availability of resources needed to fill any gaps. As PVA shared with Secretary Collins earlier this year, there are opportunities for meaningful realignment of resources within VA, even if that means reduction in areas that do not improve upon mission delivery for VA.' About Paralyzed Veterans of AmericaParalyzed Veterans of America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and the only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated solely for the benefit and representation of veterans with spinal cord injury or diseases. The organization ensures veterans receive the benefits earned through service to our nation; monitors their care in VA spinal cord injury units; and funds research and education in the search for a cure and improved care for individuals with a life-long partner and advocate for veterans and all people with disabilities, PVA also develops training and career services, works to ensure accessibility in public buildings and spaces, and provides health and rehabilitation opportunities through sports and recreation. With more than 70 offices and 33 chapters, Paralyzed Veterans of America serves veterans, their families, and their caregivers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Learn more at Contact: Oname Thompson 703-864-5980 cellOnameT@
The Star
05-07-2025
- The Star
Brain chip made by Elon Musk's company put into paralysed military vet. What to know
A paralysed military veteran is one of seven people in the country to be implanted with an Elon Musk-backed brain chip as part of a clinical trial underway in South Florida. The goal is to test whether the chip, created by Neuralink, a company co-founded by Musk, can give people who are paralysed the ability to use their mind to control computers, smartphones and other electronic devices. Surgeons at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine implanted the device, known as the Link or Telepathy, in the patient's brain as part of the FDA-approved clinical trial. And so far, the tech seems to work. Video recently shared by UM shows the veteran, who was only identified as RJ, using his mind to wirelessly play a video game on a computer. Photos posted online also show Musk making the 'U' sign in celebration with UM medical staff at the hospital. 'They're giving me my spark back.. my drive back. They've given me my purpose back,' RJ said in a statement. RJ, who has a spinal cord injury stemming from a motorcycle accident, received the Neuralink implant in April at UHealth Tower, the Miami flagship hospital of the University of Miami Health System. As of last week, RJ was one of seven people in the country who have received the Telepathy implant since clinical trials began last year, according to Neuralink co-founder and president DJ Seo. He's also the first patient to get the implant through The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UM's medical school, which was tapped earlier this year to be the second site in the country to test the safety and effectiveness of the chip. The first patient, Noland Arbaugh, had his Link surgically implanted last year at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. 'We're very cautious with Neuralink in humans' and are working closely with regulators, Musk said during a June update on Neuralink's progress creating devices that improve or restore movement, vision and speech. 'That's the reason we're not moving faster than we are, is because we're taking great care with each individual to make sure we never miss and, so far, we haven't.' For the Telepathy trials, researchers are looking for volunteers 22 to 75 years old who have limited or no ability to use both hands to participate in the clinical trial. The paralysis must be from a cervical spinal cord injury or from ALS, a rare disease with no cure that causes nerve cells to stop working and muscles to become weak, leading to paralysis. Neuralink has also received approval to launch similar trials in Canada, the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates, according to Seo. 'We hope this partnership is another significant step in finding meaningful solutions for the millions living with paralysis and other significant motor deficits,' Marc Buoniconti, president of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the son of the late Miami Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti, previously told the Miami Herald. Marc Buoniconti became a quadriplegic following a spinal cord injury while playing in a 1985 college football game. His father helped establish the Miami Project. And unlike other types of brain surgeries, the surgical implant of the Link is not as invasive, according to Dr Jonathan Jagid, UM's principal investigator for the clinical trial and part of RJ's surgical team. How does Neuralink's brain chip work? Surgeons made a relatively small incision to implant a wireless, rechargeable coin-sized brain chip in the part of RJ's brain that handles thoughts and body movement. A Neuralink surgical robot with a needle that's thinner than a human hair is used to implant more than 60 flexible ultra-thin 'threads.' The threads are so fine that they can't be inserted by human hand, according to Neuralink. 'The surgery went perfect,' Jagid told the Herald in a phone interview this week while discussing RJ's procedure. The veteran was discharged from the hospital a day after his surgery, he said. The device records electrical signals sent between brain cells and wirelessly transmits it to Neuralink's software, which will be running on a computer or another device. The software will then decode and translate the neural data into actions, such as moving a cursor or a chess piece on a computer screen, playing video games and even using design software. Neuralink is also testing whether its brain chip can help patients control a robotic arm. 'I think my favorite thing's probably (being) able to turn on my TV, like the first time in two and a half years I was able to do that. That was a pretty sweet move,' RJ said during a recorded video call with several other Telepathy users. The recording was played during Neuralink's June 27 event. RJ, who identified himself as the fifth person in the country to receive the Link, was also shown playing Call of Duty and Mario Kart with the other Neuralink patients. All of it was done wirelessly using their minds. 'I like shooting zombies. That's kinda nice,' said RJ, whose shirt read: 'I do a thing called whatever I want.' For Jagid, the UM doctor, the technology is a step in the right direction for The Miami Project's mission to find a cure for paralysis from spinal cord injuries and help improve patients' quality of life. And RJ's involvement in the trial will help 'move the science forward in order to help everybody else who suffers with these types of injuries,' he said. – Miami Herald/Tribune News Service
