{"id":7879,"date":"2025-05-04T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7879"},"modified":"2025-05-04T20:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T20:30:00","slug":"once-a-marine-always-a-marine-usmc-colonel-bolsters-sci-patient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7879","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Once a Marine, always a Marine\u2019: USMC colonel bolsters SCI patient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-05-04T20:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

A Marine, paralyzed in a fishing accident nearly a year ago, is about to embark on the next phase of his new life, buoyed by his Marine brethren and the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.<\/p>\n

Cpl. Skyler Correia, 22, of Reedsburg, Wis., received a surprise visitor Wednesday in SCI \u2014 Col. Morina D. Foster,\u00a0Wounded Warrior Regiment<\/a>\u00a0Commanding Officer. Though Foster was on leave in Chicago preparing for her daughter\u2019s upcoming wedding, she made the trip to Milwaukee specifically to meet Correia.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAnytime I\u2019m out, I try to make sure I get to see our recovering service members,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m visiting one of our own and making sure he\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wounded Warrior Regiment provides support for injured Marines and their families in order to facilitate their return to duty or transition to civilian life.<\/p>\n

Correia is due to be medically discharged from the Marines soon, and his nearly yearlong stay in the Milwaukee VA SCI is also drawing to a close. He\u2019ll be returning to his parents\u2019 home while a fully accessible home of his own is readied.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got all these milestones, and he\u2019s doing really well,\u201d Foster said.<\/p>\n

Correia, who enlisted in 2021, said the visit reinforced his commitment to the Marines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great wake-up call to see that Marines, no matter how far apart they are, they really come together for each other,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never discharged from the Marines. Once a Marine, always a Marine,\u201d Foster added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Correia admitted his year since the accident has been hard, filled with setbacks as well as triumphs.<\/p>\n

But Dr. Ken Lee, director of the Milwaukee VA SCI, said Correia\u2019s spirit and attitude have made a difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came in with the Marine mentality of never giving up,\u201d Lee said. Now, Correia can raise his arms over his head and continues to work on being able to use a manual wheelchair.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a very difficult year, running into a lot of medical issues, but nothing I can\u2019t overcome,\u201d Correia said. \u201cI just keep getting back up every time I get knocked down. You\u2019ve got to figure out how to live with this without being negative. Otherwise, it will eat you up.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said his care at the Milwaukee VA SCI has been \u201camazing. They have gotten me everything I needed. I couldn\u2019t see myself going anywhere else for this kind of care.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Reedsburg community has rallied to support Correia since his accident: There have been fundraisers and charity events to aid his recovery, and a GoFundMe account has been set up for him. That support helped the family purchase a van for Correia and remodel his parents\u2019 home to accommodate his wheelchair.<\/p>\n

He also has the support of the Marine Corps, which Foster iterated during her visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to provide our recovering service members with all the resources they need while they\u2019re in the hospital and after they transition,\u201d she said. \u201cWe rally around our Veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foster chatted with Correia about the upcoming National Veterans Wheelchair Games July 17-22 in Minneapolis, where Correia hopes to compete in air rifle and rugby.<\/p>\n

Though he hasn\u2019t taken to the rugby court yet, Correia said he\u2019s excited to try the rough-and-tumble wheelchair sport. His goal is to one day compete in the Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in a sports chair and met the rugby guys,\u201d Correia said. \u201cIt\u2019s rough. Those guys hit hard. But I\u2019m very excited for that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For air rifle, a special trigger has been designed for him that will allow him to fire the rifle with a puff of air through a tube he holds in his mouth. It\u2019s a piece of adaptive technology, manufactured through Milwaukee VA 3-D printing, that is a hallmark of the SCI.<\/p>\n

As their visit drew to a close, Foster presented Correia with a Wounded Warrior Regiment pin, while Lee also gave him a challenge coin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Foster said she was inspired by Correia\u2019s positive attitude and winning smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I walked up, the first thing I saw was that smile, and that made my day,\u201d she said, noting that she typically braces for the worst when encountering injured Marines. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to get back and tell the team how positive and upbeat (Correia is).\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A U.S. Marine, paralyzed in a fishing accident nearly a year ago, is about to embark on the next phase of his new life, buoyed by his Marine brethren and the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Once a Marine, always a Marine\u2019: USMC colonel bolsters SCI patient - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A U.S. Marine, paralyzed in a fishing accident nearly a year ago, is about to embark on the next phase of his new life, buoyed by his Marine brethren and the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7879\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Once a Marine, always a Marine\u2019: USMC colonel bolsters SCI patient - 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