Limb Loss Awareness Month
Marine Veteran Joe Coaxum and his son at a recent air show.
April is Limb Loss Awareness Month and several Veterans who receive their care at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center have agreed to share their stories so that others may better understand what it means to go through such a traumatic injury.
Joe Coaxum: “With a positive attitude you can do pretty much whatever you want.”
In 2010, Joe Coaxum, a Marine Veteran of the First Gulf War, was in top physical condition. He was enjoying a ride on his motorcycle when he became a victim of a hit-and-run accident. He woke up with traumatic injuries including the loss of his left leg above the knee.
“I woke up mad, I was angry that I was in that situation and that the doctors couldn’t put me back together.” Then a nurse explained to him how he had died three times on the operating table and how lucky he was to be alive. “I continued to ‘be alive’ after that, I was determined to have my life back, my son was only a year and half old,” he said.
He noted a bit of irony that may have helped him adjust to the injury. “I used to be a volunteer at Walter Reed for the Wounded Warrior Project.” He had worked with and befriended several men and women who had lost limbs. “Then a couple years later I had the same misfortune to become an amputee myself,” he says.
Getting his life back together was no easy accomplishment, he had many dark days and still has trouble especially when he hears emergency sirens or hears of motorcycle accidents on the news. “It’s important to realize that depression is normal after something like that, but always remember you’re going to be OK.”
He believes his positive attitude was a crucial part of his recovery. “I had a positive attitude and a lot of support from my family and those around me. I was determined to not fall into the category of helplessly crippled,” he said.
At first, the loss of independence was the worst. “I’m a Marine and being in a wheelchair and not being able to be physically active was really hard for me,” he said. But he was determined to walk again, maybe even run.
The discipline he learned as a Marine helped him to walk again in record time. “I did everything the doctors and therapists told me to do. Most people, I think, don’t realize how hard it is to learn to walk again with a prosthetic leg.” First he was in a wheelchair, then on two crutches, then two canes, then one cane. His accident was in June and by September he had his first leg. “That was pretty fast, because I did exactly as I was told and I wasn’t lazy about it.”
According to Lindsay Crowell, DPT, the medical center’s Amputee Rehabilitation Coordinator, his was a fast healing process and she credits his can-do attitude. “He’s amazing to work with. One thing about recovery is that everyone has their own timeline for healing.”
Coaxum says he wants people to know that life doesn’t have to end after a traumatic injury. “I can do the same things you can do, maybe even better,” he says with a smile.
Using a prosthetic leg, Vietnam Veteran Ronald Drach walks his wife down the aisle at their daughter’s wedding.
Ronald Drach: Veterans Advocate Looking Forward to Every Day
In Vietnam in 1967, a 22-year-old Soldier, Ronald Drach, stepped on a booby trap. His injuries were so severe; his leg had to be amputated. Looking back, Drach says the injury actually opened doors for him.
“I had no background, no college education, and no real future before the injury. For me, it actually opened up opportunities that might not have been there otherwise,” Drach said. The VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation program helped him develop the skills to land a job at the VA in Pittsburg and then for the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) where he worked for 28 years. After attempting to retire, he rejoined the work force with the Department of Labor.
“I like keeping busy it’s good for the mind,“ he said. The now 73-year-old Army Veteran shows no sign of slowing down. He continues to do consulting work and volunteers with several different groups including the Wounded Warriors Project, Thanks USA, and Transcend Youth.
Family and travel also keep him busy. He and his wife of 49 years have two grandchildren. He encourages them to ask questions about his leg. “It’s important for them to treat me like everyone else. We need to think of that for everyone with disabilities, treat each other the way you want to be treated,” he said.
“I’m a happy camper; VA has taken good care of me. My health is pretty good, I look forward to everyday, and I like learning something new everyday. Life is good.”
Amputee Clinic: Amputee Rehabilitation Coordinator Lindsay Crowell assists Veteran Eugene Tillman develop his balance.
Eugene Tillman: Reclaiming His Passion for Art
He joined the U.S. Army at age 16. While in the Army and the National Guard, Eugene Tillman was always artistic; he was an illustrator, a graphic artist and an architectural draftsman. “My mother was an artist, and I started drawing really young.” But then he got busy with work, life and the military and left the art world behind, Tillman explains.
He’s recently rediscovered his love of art and is moving ahead like a man on a mission. Working with the medical center’s Recreation Therapy Program, he just won three first place awards in the recent Veterans Creative Arts Festival. Now he is busy preparing for a local art show in Bowie, Maryland.
He is a triple amputee due to disease, but that doesn’t slow down his creative work. “Luckily I still have my right hand so I can do my art,” he said. With current advancements in bionic prosthetics, he says he is able to do more with his left hand now too.
He participates in various programs around the medical center including physical therapy and nutrition. He says he doesn’t have time for negativity and people who don’t enhance his life. “I don’t really like social media either, people share too much. I’d rather have a one-on-one conversation with someone I like.”
Tillman is a quiet, humble and private person. “I normally don’t like to share too much about myself, but if it’s for the VA or other Veterans I will,” he says. “Lindsay Crowell (his physical therapist) and the nurses have been so good to me, I’ll do anything for them.”
The saying “The more we age, the more ourselves we become” is certainly true for Mr. Tillman, who is learning that you are never too old to follow your passions.
