"These things we do that others may live" is the motto of the Air Rescue Service (ARS) where Mr. Crimmins served from 1975 to 1996. After his retirement from the Air Force, Mr. Crimmins returned to civilian life, working as a letter carrier. He raised 2 children and now lives with his wife in Brooklyn Park. For 20 years he coached high school hockey and is looking forward to getting back into coaching now that he is retired.

Taking the ARS motto to heart, Mr. Crimmins recently volunteered to be in a Minneapolis VA research study. According to research study coordinator Marti Donaire, Mr. Crimmins’ willingness to share details of challenging life experiences was "an inspiration" to the research staff. Equally inspirational was his rationale for volunteering: his hope that the study would lead to improved care for fellow Veterans.

Patrick Sanders, a native of Rochester, did not know when he signed up for a Minneapolis VA research study, that this decision would open a whole new world for him. After his service in the Navy as a nuclear power plant operator on a submarine (1992 to 1996), Mr. Sanders returned to civilian life with a job as a financial analyst and a love of motorcycling. When he subsequently lost a leg in a motorcycle accident, he was introduced to the world of prosthetics and prosthetics research at the Minneapolis VA hospital.

Mr. Sanders has participated in about a dozen different studies run by investigators at the Minneapolis Adaptive Design and Engineering group (MADE). On one occasion he had a close call when the new powered robotic ankle he was testing fell apart under him. Fortunately, he was holding on to parallel bars!

Mr. Sanders enjoys participating in VA research because it exposes him to cutting-edge technology and allows him to help advance the field for the benefit of others. But wait, there’s more. His involvement in VA research led Mr. Sanders to a whole new career: He is now getting his master’s degree in prosthetics.