On the night of Nov. 23, 2012, Bethlehem resident Brian McCritcherd awoke screaming in pain from injuries to his back that happened during six years of service in the Army. His service had already left him with several crippled fingers; now, in addition to the pain he was suffering, the veteran was losing the ability to stand unassisted and walk.

Five major surgeries on his back followed over the next few years, none of them fully successful. Today, thanks to a strong upper body, McCritcherd can pull himself to a standing position, but his left leg doesn’t respond at all.

A man used to demanding physical labor now has to travel everywhere in a wheelchair. But not when he’s at an ice rink.

At the Bethlehem Skating Rink on Illick’s Mill Road, McCritcherd demonstrates how he skates using a “sled” (the official name of this device, which was manufactured in Canada) that rests on two blades and a tip. Strapped in, he propels himself with what looks like short, inverted hockey sticks. One end of each stick is fitted with several thin steel shafts that catch in the ice; the other end serves as a grip.

On the ice McCritcherd always wears a hockey helmet with a face mask. Accidents happened frequently when he was learning to skate, he says, but after substantial practice, he can now glide around the ice confidently.

Brian McCritcherd’s journey to the Bethlehem Skating Rink started in 2016 when a doctor at the Veterans’ Hospital in Wilkes Barre suggested that he take up archery as a means of strengthening his back. His teenage son was an archer, and the opportunity to do something outdoors with the boy motivated him to give it a try.

Following a lot of practice, they traveled to the 2017 Valor Games, an event that brings together disabled veterans and wounded, ill or injured service members and engages them in three days of Paralympic sport competition.

“I blew away the others,” McCritcherd reports. That experience started his journey.

A man he met at another competition encouraged him to get more involved in sports, and in time he competed in bicycle, kayak, and even bocce competitions at games for paralympic athletes.

Participating in athletics was the way out of a very dark time in McCritcherd’s life.

“It was all done; there was nothing left for me,” he says, describing his feelings about his situation.

“My wife and kids love it,” he says of his new activities. “It helps with the depression.

“A lot of the disabled don’t want to try nothing,” he says. “They need to have something to look forward to.”

Eager to take up skating, McCritcherd checked several commercial rinks in the Lehigh Valley, discovering that he would have to share the facilities with able-bodied skiers. On his sled, McCritcherd is below their line of sight and could easily be hit and knocked over.

Jodi Evans, director of recreation for the City of Bethlehem, had the solution. She found a time during the week when the city’s rink was not being used and invited the new skater to use it. Brian has taken full advantage of the opportunity.

Next winter, he plans to join the Puck Hogs, a hockey team of disabled veterans based in Harrisburg. He hopes to bring the team to Bethlehem.

Jodi Evans also has plans. She is looking for an opportunity to schedule a regular time for disabled persons to skate. One group has already hung its banner at the facility. She hopes the Puck Hogs and others will do the same.