Like many things we read about but have never witnessed in person, we can intellectually understand a situation, but not fully take to heart its meaning. In other words, we can know, but we do not feel. That's the situation when I speak about injured military, the wounded warriors. The human aspects of an injured warrior did not come across until I met one brave warrior at the closing of the Walter Reed Army Hospital within the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.
I met Adam. He lost his left arm below the elbow, his left leg above the knee, and his right leg at the hip. He had body wounds and was not expected to live when he arrived at the hospital a year ago. He is 21 years old. I would like to tell you I spoke with him and learned all about Adam, but I did not know how to relate to him and was not comfortable asking him questions. I knew he still had a long way to go to be fully healed so I did not want to be the cause of a medical or psychological setback. All I can tell you is that I learned that I have much to learn about people with disabilities. I also know that I need to learn more about how to speak with someone with physical and psychological stress. I marvelled at his strength and courage. He even wheeled himself onto the floor to particpate in an impromptu dance of celebration toward the end of a Doobie Brother's concert presented as a closing celebration. His mom ran out and took Adam's hand and danced with him around his wheelchair. That's hope and expectation displayed! Yes, I teared.
Bottomline. We need to 'walk' in a person's shoes in order to appreciate the full impact of a person's situation.
I attended the Walter Reed Casing the Colors ceremony, when all the flags that had flown to represent the units within the Center were ceremoniously rolled and sheathed. View this photo
Within several months, the hospital's 5,000 staff members will be divided between the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., which will be renamed the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and the newly completed Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia. All new combat casualties from Afghanistan and Iraq are already being sent primarily to the Bethesda facility. By late August, all of the Hospital's patients will have been moved to the two new sites. Thus after 102 years of service to the military, Walter Reed Hospital will officially close its doors on Sept. 15th and the facilities will be reused by the DC Government and a federal agency.
End of an era, the beginning of another.
© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com
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