The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians congratulates Tamara Huson, MD, FAAFP, and her husband Henry Huson, MD, on being selected to the medical team for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 that was held in mid-February.
Dr. Huson shared the following about their experience:
We (my husband and I) knew two weeks away from our babies (3 and 5 years old) would be enormously difficult, and the longest we’d ever been away from them. But the opportunity to donate our time and efforts to the Invictus Games’ inaugural hybrid winter games in Vancouver/Whistler was not something we could pass up.
For over a decade, the Games have served as a conduit to recovery through sport for wounded, injured, and sick service men and women (both veteran and active). They were started by Prince Harry, who himself served in the military for a decade, and have proved to be life-changing and lifesaving.
Across 11 sports (wheelchair rugby, swimming, and skeleton luge to name a few), over 100,000 spectators, 550 participants, and 1,100 friends and family joined across six competition venues and two cities. Out of the 4,500+ that applied, 1,900 volunteers were selected and we were humbled to be two of them (for the medical team).
Also in the spirit of Invictus’ motto being a “home for respect,” the Four Nations including Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Lil’Wat Nation, Squamish Nation, and Musqueam Nation (the indigenous tribes whose land the games were held on) were partnered with to help host the games and were instrumental in collaborative logo designs.
We stood in awe as competitors from different nations helped each other, hugged, cried, and leaned on each other. The spirit of the games is not that of competition, but one of healing through sport. The camaraderie is second to none and an honor to serve those who served (and are serving), and treat them with the respect they deserve.
Expressions of interest for the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 are underway and we will absolutely try to go again!
Invictus means unconquered. Standing alongside these incredible men and women, they indubitably remain so.
Dr. Huson serves as an At-Large Director on the OAFP Board of Directors and is a member of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Workgroup, the Nominating Workgroup, the Member Constituencies Workgroup, and the Practice Resource Team. She was also an Emerging Leader to the 2024 National Conference of Constituency Leaders (NCCL) and is the woman delegate for the 2025 NCCL.