My “4 day experience”

There was one experience I had growing up that might help explain my compulsion to “do something” for disabled vets. In 1974, when I was 14 years old, a tumor (hemangioma) on my index finger had to be surgically removed and this was done at Walter Reed Army Hospital (I was an Army brat). The 4 day experience was one I’ll never forget.

For the 3 days before surgery they had me in a large room with dozens of other patients. I believe they were all soldiers that had been injured in Vietnam. The only significant event during these 3 days was the time one of the soldiers in a card game out on the balcony became irate with me and tried to throw me over the balcony. To this day I don’t know what set him off, but I was grateful to the other soldiers that quickly got him off of me. I stayed close to my bed from that point forward.

The day of surgery I was nervous, but anxious to get back home. When they rolled me out the large room I recall a few of the soldiers waving goodbye and wishing me luck. The next stop was the anesthesiologist….

I have vivid memories of this guy who seemed impatient with me stabbing a needle into my armpit at least a dozen times complaining that he couldn’t “find” it. A few of these stabs were extremely painful and remained painful for long after I had returned home. To this day I can’t help but believe that something just wasn’t “right” about what he did to numb my arm.

The ride to the surgery room on morphine was incredible. I learned from my experience why morphine was so popular on the battlefield. Any stress, worries, and pain fell by the wayside within minutes as the mind enters into a state of “bizarroland”. I vaguely recall the person pushing me laughing histerically about my answers to his questions about baseball. Although I was awake when they started operating on my finger I don’t recall much and I felt no pain.

When I came to I was in the intensive care unit (ICU) and the beginning of one of the darkest few hours of my life began.

There must have been 30 soldiers in the same room with me and the screaming, crying, and yelling never stopped. I don’t have any idea how long I was in there, but the horrible pain some of these guys were experiencing will never leave me.

Whenever I hear about another soldier getting wounded I think of my experience. Whenever I watch a war movie I think of these soldiers from 1974. And sometimes I just think about them without anything prompting the memories.

I don’t claim to know what it’s like to be a disabled veteran, but those 4 days back in 1974 did provide me with a glimpse into what it must be like to go through the process after being injured. It isn’t a pleasant one at all. If my experience is any indication it’s very lonely and painful both physically and mentally.

These men and women who come home from the battlefields we sent them off to deserve a helping hand when it comes time to find meaningful work or starting a business to support themselves and their families. With ‘Able Veterans’ I hope to do what I can to help.