Courtesy Photo | Carlos Valerio, fourth from left, and several of his Team U.S. teammates are pictured...... read more read more
FORT DETRICK, Md. -- Although he literally no longer has a stomach, Carlos Valerio remains as hungry as ever for competition.
Valerio, a retired 21-year Navy hospital corpsman and current civilian employee at U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command, participated and medaled as a member of Team U.S. at the 2025 Invictus Games, held Feb. 8-16 in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.
Valerio was one of 50 active-duty military and veterans who represented Team U.S., part of the 500-athlete field representing 25 different countries. Team U.S. earned gold, silver or bronze in nine of the 11 events during the international adaptive sporting competition, created for wounded, injured and sick current or former service members.
It marked the second time Valerio, a 48-year-old gastric cancer survivor, competed at the games. He first participated in the 2018 Sydney games in Australia.
“At Invictus, you see it on a global scale. You see that there’s so much need for recovery,” Valerio said. “And I think one of the best ways to do it is through sport.”
Valerio’s events included the biathlon and wheelchair basketball, earning a bronze medal as a member of a mixed-nation group called Team Unconquered.
It was the first time an Unconquered team has medaled at Invictus, Valerio said, adding that his impromptu participation on the basketball team was the best part of the experience. He initially planned to participate on the seated volleyball team, but a roster snafu kept him out of that competition.
“It ended up being six Americans and two Ukrainians,” he said of the Unconquered team, recounting the team’s preliminary games, including a last-second shot that allowed them to advance to the medal rounds.
“There was a lot of buzz about that and toward the last two games there was a lot of interviews, a lot of media,” Valerio said. “It was fun to see that and to provide that opportunity to the guys. It’s hard to medal at Invictus. For them to go for the first time and go home with a medal, it’s special.”
This year also marked a first for the games to feature winter-specific events, including six adaptive winter sports.
First held in 2014 and inspired by the Department of Defense’s Warrior Games, the Invictus Games promote the power of sport to support recovery, rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who serve their country.
‘I’m blessed’
Valerio’s personal road to recovery started in 2017, following a routine physical while still on active duty that led to some bad news. Doctors found a tumor on the upper part of his stomach and diagnosed him with stage two gastric cancer.
His options were a partial or complete removal of his stomach, plus several rounds of chemotherapy. Valerio and his doctors agreed that a full removal would be best.
“Most of your stomach function and absorption happens in the upper portion, so all I would have had left was the bottom,” he explained. “Now, it’s basically like I had gastric bypass.”
After a weeklong stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to complete his surgery and subsequent treatments, Valerio began living out his “new normal,” like millions of other wounded, injured or sick service members and veterans.
Doctors told him he would likely have dietary restrictions, considering his stomach was essentially replaced by an elongated esophagus connected directly to his small intestine. But Valerio said he’s had nearly no issues since the procedure about eight years ago.
“I’m blessed,” he said. “I’m not really supposed to eat sugar, steak, milk, things that the body struggles to digest. But I have a really normal life. I eat what I want for the most part. The only thing I really have to balance is hydration versus nutrition. If I drink too much, I’m full and can’t eat. And vice versa. That’s the one big thing I still battle.”
Returning to battle after a significant injury, trauma or illness can often be a challenge for service members. The DOD Warrior Games was initially an outlet for Valerio as he started his recovery through sport, he said.
Valerio went to Chicago in the summer of 2018 to participate on the Navy’s team in cycling and air pistol/air rifle, earning a medal in the air pistol event.
“Based on my performance there, they nominated me to be a member of Team USA for Invictus,” said Valerio, who competed in cycling and sitting volleyball at the Sydney games in October 2018.
‘Not really about winning medals’
Valerio said his first experience at Invictus really opened his eyes to the need for healing through sport, not just in the U.S. but on a global scale.
“It was awesome, just knowing all these people from different branches, different nations who experienced terrible things and are here to move forward and learn a new normal, a new way to function,” he said. “Sometimes people can fall into depression, this dark world (following a severe injury or illness) … and then you see people realize there’s still functionality and things you can do, and it’s really amazing.
“It’s not really about winning medals,” Valerio said. “It’s about realizing, ‘hey, I can do this.’ That’s the best thing that comes out of these programs.”
Valerio, a native of El Paso, Texas, and an operations and training specialist at AMLC headquarters at Fort Detrick, reflected on the experience at his second Invictus after returning home. Of course, the competition was fun, he said, but it’s the relationships and camaraderie with fellow participants that will stick with him.
“It gives people the hope, a way to reach out and get help,” Valerio said. “It just becomes a community, and part of that community is to look out for one another. It’s a great program and I hope to continue supporting in any way that I can.”
| Date Taken: | 03.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2025 08:52 |
| Story ID: | 491880 |
| Location: | FORT DETRICK, MARYLAND, US |
| Hometown: | EL PASO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 100 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Navy vet-turned-Army Civilian participates in second Invictus Games, by C.J. Lovelace, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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