From: Phillip Cornejo,
Army Infantry/Navy corps,
Veteran/Retired
Get Out and MOVE With the New Year!
Jim Abbott once stated, “It's not the disability
that defines you, it’s how you deal with the challenges the disability presents you with. We have an obligation to
the abilities we DO have, not the disability.” Jim Abbott was born September 19, 1967, in Flint, Michigan, without
a right hand. He was an All-America hurler. He played for the California Angels, the New York Yankees,
the Chicago White Sox, and the Milwaukee Brewers from 1989 to 1999. In the spirit of Jim Abbott, it’s the New Year
and time for resolutions to get healthier and more active (http://www.jimabbott.net/biography.html).
As veterans go, we are unique. Often there are those veterans who do their
time and never have any problems and stay fit after separation. Then there is the second set of Vets who are like me,
the injured veterans or the been-through-hec-and-back veterans who do not “believe” they can exercise anymore.
However, that is far from the truth. Veterans have many resources to help them get into shape with the VA now.
Below is a list of various services that any veteran established with the VA can call on to get support:
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The MOVE program – this program is designed to help Veterans meet their healthy weight and maintain it.
The MOVE program is designed to help with weight loss and weight management education by providing
recipe books, guest chefs to show and teach the veterans how to make and prepare healthy foods, and
weekly meetings to establish and review goals. Additionally the MOVE program can help with getting
you started exercising at onsite gyms or other organizations who work with the veteran off site,
frequently at low to no cost. The MOVE program can also assist the veteran in getting adaptive
devices such as:
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| o | Specialized sport/hiking wheelchairs |
| | |
| o | Specialized handcycles for veterans with low back or lower extremity issues |
| | |
| o | Specialized bicycles to help with meet specialized needs for members with upper body issues or hand issues |
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There is a caveat to the MOVE program. Some locations may be smaller than others,
and in that case the move program may want you to partner up with some of their
ancillary departments. DO NOT LET THIS GET YOU DOWN – I am a veteran who was able
to get a specialized wheelchair, a wheelchair lift, and additional aqua therapy to
help me with my weight issues related to my injuries, even though the program was
under new management.
| | • |
The following ancillary clinics can help you
after you get a referral from you primary care physician/manager. This physician can be a psychiatrist or
doctor:
|
| | |
| o | Physical Therapy Department:
This department will have a consult with you and with your input make recommendations to help you with
exercise or other adaptive devices. In my location the Physical Therapy Department recommended me for
my wheelchair, took measurements, and custom designed it for me so that the prosthetics department
could order it. Additionally, the physical therapy department can help with getting a transcutaneous
electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit to help with pain while exercising. I have a TENS unit
I keep attached to my hips while I use the wheelchair to help me keep going without additional pain
medication. Also, I am attending an offsite aqua therapeutic exercise program through the VA to help
me strengthen my lower body. I have done so well that I will be advancing on to a Palates program
designed for people who need adaptive aids and therapy.
|
| | |
| o | Prosthetics Department:
Often times, in many VA clinics Prosthetics is responsible for getting adaptive aids such as wheelchairs,
handcycles, and other devices to help keep the veteran moving and exercising. Usually, Physical Therapy and
the doctor will help you with prosthetics. Personally, I just walked into the Prosthetics Department one day
and started asking questions, and they were really helpful in getting me started and telling me what to ask
for from the doctors.
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| o | Pain Management Department:
Pain Management can help with medication to keep you moving, adaptive devices to help reduce your need to
take pain medication, bio-feedback therapy to help you after exercising to naturally help reduce pain, and
any other therapy you may need, such as injections or pain blocks. For me and many other disabled vets,
good pain management is the key to helping us get more mobile. Often, many people believe that if they
have pain, they shouldn’t exercise. Studies have shown that this is not true. Patients with severe
rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia were able to reduce their pain through diet, weight loss, and
light to moderate exercise programs. Think about the tin man: when he just sat there, he got rusty
– same goes for the body!
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I want to close this article with a personal note. In 2007
I received an injury that changed my life. The medical doctors all told me that I probably would
not be able to do much anymore and said that while I may not be confined to a wheelchair, I would
probably be using one for the majority of my life. If not for people like Bernard and Debbie Barcena,
my sis Raquel Monday, Robert Soto, and my family, I would have given up a long time ago. Because of
these people and their words that I keep inside me, I have finally achieved a lifelong dream of mine.
I went surfing with a group called Access Surf. They took me out with a board, taught me how to
ride the waves. I moved from my belly to my knees, and while I have no illusions that I will
stand up on a board, I will someday take a knee and ride a big one in. Join me in surfing your
dreams, whether on the land, in the water, or—hec ya!—even maybe in the air.
Links to the VA MOVE program:
Home Page - http://www.move.va.gov/
MOVE success stories: http://www.move.va.gov/SuccessStories.asp
VA prosthetics Home Page: http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/index.asp.
Locations for prosthetics
departments in Texas:
| State |
City |
VISN |
Station |
Type of Fabrication |
Address |
| TX |
Dallas |
17 |
549 |
Prosthetic and
Orthotic |
4500 South Lancaster Road,
Dallas, TX 75216 |
| TX |
Houston |
16 |
580 |
Prosthetic and
Orthotic |
2002 Holcombe Boulevard,
Houston, TX 77030 |
| TX |
San Antonio |
17 |
671 |
Prosthetic and
Orthotic |
7400 Merton Minter Blvd.,
san Antonio, TX 78229 |
| TX |
Temple |
17 |
674 |
Prosthetic and
Orthotic |
1901 Veterans Memorial Drive,
Temple, TX 76504 |
Adaptive and Veterans Non-profit Organization Ride 2
Recovery: http://ride2recovery.com/
National VA summer Sports Program:
http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/ssc/index.asp
(To the Lipan Apache Tribe's Military Service Page)
(To Phillip Cornejo's Main Page)
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