When Jefferson City resident Katie Verderber lost the ability to walk in late 2023, she assumed she’d worn the American flag for the last time. Yet just over two years later, the U.S. Army veteran who suffered a major back injury in Afghanistan in 2019, is one of five athletes on Team USA’s wheelchair curling team set to compete in Italy starting next week.
“I’m so thankful for curling,” said the 35-year-old Verderber, the first Montanan to curl for the Paralympic team. “Not just because I get to go and be a Paralympian, but I think it truly saved my marriage and my life.”
After her Afghanistan injury, sustained while serving as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer advising leaders on targeting decisions, the surgery to replace her compressed discs went poorly.
