thedrifter
07-21-08, 06:55 AM
July 21, 2008
Wounded war veteran is on a roll
By John Andrew Prime
jprime@gannett.com
Shreveport Army veteran Nathan Reed is on a roll. A Segway roll, that is.
The staff sergeant, a 1988 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, lost most of his right leg and suffered other injuries after a car bomb blast in Iraq on May 29, 2006. The explosion also caused shrapnel wounds to his right arm and left leg.
Thanks to the donation of a Segway personal transporter from the group Seg4Vets earlier this year, Reed has been getting around faster at his job as Warrior Transition Team member at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio.
"It was quite a surprise," Reed said of the Segway, which he said is useful around the spread-out medical center and Fort Sam Houston. "A lot of my commanders felt it would be a good asset for me to use, since we do a lot of walking to and from the office."
Reed was among more than 60 wounded soldiers, Marines, National Guardsmen and airmen who lost limbs and sustained other injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan and received the Segways at the Alamo in April.
"The hardest thing about using it at first was just the initial getting on and getting your balance. The easiest part of it is maneuvering around. Yes, it's fun, but I don't look at it in a fun aspect. When I'm on it, I'm at work and doing my job, so there's not a lot of chances to have fun."
The donors say the Segways give wounded military service members more independence and keep them standing on their new prosthetic legs and out of wheelchairs.
"Segways allow them to perform everyday activities beyond the physical limitations of a wheelchair," said Jerry Kerr, a founder of Segs4Vets and a Segway user who became a quadriplegic after a diving accident. "Former recipients use Segways to travel between college classes, go to work and accompany their families to shopping malls, amusement parks and other outings. We are grateful for their sacrifice and this is our way of saying thank you for your service."
Reed, the 38-year-old, married father of three, is a squad leader who works with wounded soldiers newly arrived from the war theater. It was just over two years ago that he was one of them, spending 60 days at the hospital recovering from his brush with death and the loss of his leg.
"They have the drive and will to want to succeed and get back to daily living," Reed said of the soldiers he sees. "They don't let the injury that they have play into their everyday life. They try very hard at everything they do."
He noted that four of his veterans are on a local hockey team for the disabled and are competing for a spot at the 2010 Paralympics.
"They really enjoy a second chance at life," he said. "They are very outgoing about how they approach everyday life."
Although the Segway is not FDA approved as a medical device, it is finding a growing following among individuals with physical disabilities caused by spinal cord injuries, MS and Parkinson's disease. In the past two years, Segs4vets has awarded 148 Segways to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, most of whom are amputees, and to major military rehabilitation centers in Washington, D.C., Texas and California. The Segway is not covered by military medical insurance.
DRAFT, the parent organization for Segs4Vets, is the first organization to receive a blanket waiver from the U.S. military allowing gifts of more than $1,000 to severely injured, active-duty military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Segs4Vets, created in late 2005, is run by volunteers as part of DRAFT, a nonprofit created by Kerr and Leonard Timm, who lost his legs in a boating accident as a teenager, and Fred Kaplan, a Los Angeles CPA who has a child with multiple sclerosis. Also involved in the founding was retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, former commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.
Reed will have put in 20 years in about 17 months and is counting the days until he can retire. He plans to seek a job in information technology, or IT.
"That's a pretty good field here in San Antonio," he said. "I plan to continue to work at the Army base and work around soldiers."
Ellie
Wounded war veteran is on a roll
By John Andrew Prime
jprime@gannett.com
Shreveport Army veteran Nathan Reed is on a roll. A Segway roll, that is.
The staff sergeant, a 1988 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, lost most of his right leg and suffered other injuries after a car bomb blast in Iraq on May 29, 2006. The explosion also caused shrapnel wounds to his right arm and left leg.
Thanks to the donation of a Segway personal transporter from the group Seg4Vets earlier this year, Reed has been getting around faster at his job as Warrior Transition Team member at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio.
"It was quite a surprise," Reed said of the Segway, which he said is useful around the spread-out medical center and Fort Sam Houston. "A lot of my commanders felt it would be a good asset for me to use, since we do a lot of walking to and from the office."
Reed was among more than 60 wounded soldiers, Marines, National Guardsmen and airmen who lost limbs and sustained other injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan and received the Segways at the Alamo in April.
"The hardest thing about using it at first was just the initial getting on and getting your balance. The easiest part of it is maneuvering around. Yes, it's fun, but I don't look at it in a fun aspect. When I'm on it, I'm at work and doing my job, so there's not a lot of chances to have fun."
The donors say the Segways give wounded military service members more independence and keep them standing on their new prosthetic legs and out of wheelchairs.
"Segways allow them to perform everyday activities beyond the physical limitations of a wheelchair," said Jerry Kerr, a founder of Segs4Vets and a Segway user who became a quadriplegic after a diving accident. "Former recipients use Segways to travel between college classes, go to work and accompany their families to shopping malls, amusement parks and other outings. We are grateful for their sacrifice and this is our way of saying thank you for your service."
Reed, the 38-year-old, married father of three, is a squad leader who works with wounded soldiers newly arrived from the war theater. It was just over two years ago that he was one of them, spending 60 days at the hospital recovering from his brush with death and the loss of his leg.
"They have the drive and will to want to succeed and get back to daily living," Reed said of the soldiers he sees. "They don't let the injury that they have play into their everyday life. They try very hard at everything they do."
He noted that four of his veterans are on a local hockey team for the disabled and are competing for a spot at the 2010 Paralympics.
"They really enjoy a second chance at life," he said. "They are very outgoing about how they approach everyday life."
Although the Segway is not FDA approved as a medical device, it is finding a growing following among individuals with physical disabilities caused by spinal cord injuries, MS and Parkinson's disease. In the past two years, Segs4vets has awarded 148 Segways to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, most of whom are amputees, and to major military rehabilitation centers in Washington, D.C., Texas and California. The Segway is not covered by military medical insurance.
DRAFT, the parent organization for Segs4Vets, is the first organization to receive a blanket waiver from the U.S. military allowing gifts of more than $1,000 to severely injured, active-duty military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Segs4Vets, created in late 2005, is run by volunteers as part of DRAFT, a nonprofit created by Kerr and Leonard Timm, who lost his legs in a boating accident as a teenager, and Fred Kaplan, a Los Angeles CPA who has a child with multiple sclerosis. Also involved in the founding was retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, former commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.
Reed will have put in 20 years in about 17 months and is counting the days until he can retire. He plans to seek a job in information technology, or IT.
"That's a pretty good field here in San Antonio," he said. "I plan to continue to work at the Army base and work around soldiers."
Ellie