Day 96, Walk for Warriors

Every coin has two sides. Today I ran over a trestle and then a bridge to reach the west bank of the Flint River and was happy I did. Running across the bridge and the trestle was a necessity because I realized there was no margin on either side of the structures. I had been walking on the east side of the river and that seemed to be a line of demarcation.

The aged downtown of Albany had its charms not the least of which was a public area that had been delightfully improved for the use of pedestrians who fancied a clear look at their river.

Children frolicked in an enclosed area where water spouted high into the air as they danced on smooth concrete and parents snapped pictures under a throbbing sun. Unfortunately, the Riverquarium was closed for the holiday but the walk through and around the town of Albany was pleasant and stimulating. I walked down to the river to see what action I could find.

A young boy and his sister ran up to me holding a Styrofoam cup. “Look mister, I caught a fish and it’s swimming around in my cup,” the boy said gleefully, his younger sister in tow. He stretched out his hand to show me the hapless fish in his possession. “That’s a minnow all right,” I told him. “What are you going to do with it?”

Just then his grandmother called for him and his sister to join her on the walk up to the lawn. I snapped some photos of the old bridge and a Cyprus with budging roots. The river looked clean and portended a healthy fishery. I saw a fisherman standing in a Johnboat upstream; a sure way to take a swim. Riffles formed at two sections in my view of the river where I thought a cast would yield promising results. I climbed up the bank and met up with the grandmother and her two charges.

I peered into the cup over the shoulder of the boy and said, “You know that fish would be pretty happy if you let her go back where she belongs.” Grandmother chimed in, “The man is right. We have nowhere to put it. It’s just going to die at my house.”

The boy thought about the situation for a moment and then asked, “Grandma, will you come down with us to let it go?”

“Of course, honey.”

I walked up Pine Street toward the heart of town. Once past the urban renewal, the buildings in that part of town were dilapidated and abandoned. The next block was much improved. Some clever architect had kept the aged structure of a hundred year old brick building and added to it reinforced concrete sections at the east and west ends. To that bit of engineering he or she made sure that bas reliefs placed on the front of the building were added to enhance its sense of rebirth. All that thought went happily into the Water and Power Utility building of Dougherty County.

Other surprises included the Arts Council Building. That turn of the century building used to be the county library. It had Antebellum pillars in front and at doors to the sides of the building and its exterior had been restored to look as if had been built last year. I spoke to two neighbors who sat in wheelchairs talking to each other and enjoying a late afternoon sun. “How are you today?” I asked them.

“Just fine, just fine,” they said in unison.

“Excuse me but is that building the Public Library? It is really stately.”

The older man answered with authority, “No sir, that is the Arts Building. It used to be the library.” The woman added pointing to a much larger structure kitty-corner to our position, “That is the library now.” I thanked the couple and wished them a good evening.

Their building was a three story retirement home in an ancient hotel. As I reached the corner I could see that a great veranda stretched from the corner, one hundred feet along the street, where several older folks sat in rocking chairs or comfortable looking couches from which to enjoy the sight of a busy world. One octogenarian returned my wave and uttered a faint hello, squinting to see if she had greeted a friend’s grandchild.

I meandered through town some more and then strolled through the virtually abandoned campus of Albany State University on my way to the motel. It was an attractive campus with arbors and well kept brick buildings set tightly on its two-hundred acre site. Local people are very proud of their college which was created by an African-American man at the turn of the century.

The few times I had driven and now walked to the western side of town I had gone by a busy chicken shack called Maryland Chicken. After seeing the Albany State I walked across the street to order some chicken to eat back at the motel. I ordered the 3 piece chicken dinner with fried okra and a side of baked beans. Naturally, the idea of chowing down on all that good stuff hurried my pace. I was not disappointed in my selection of meals. If I hadn’t given the Maryland Chicken a try I would have regretted it all the way to Columbus.



These two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have produced more survivable traumatic amputations than in any other wars in history. This is due to the advent of the enemy’s use of improvised explosive devices, and from our side, improved medical attention given to wounded troops in the field of combat. This article by Peter Pollack tells the remarkable story of soldiers returning to fight after losing a limb.

Back to the front lines: Amputees keep fighting
By Peter Pollack

Study looks at factors contributing to soldiers’ return

Damage-control orthopaedic treatment of wounded military personnel often begins on the front line. Military surgeons débride and irrigate open wounds, apply external fixation, and perform fasciotomy and revascularization. As a result, injured patients receive an average of two procedures before arriving at a military hospital in the United States—often within 96 hours of injury.

Cpt. David M. Rozelle stands on a third-floor balcony of Al-Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Iraq, April 1, 2005. Rozelle returned to Iraq after losing his lower right leg during the initial stages of Operation Iraq Freedom. Rozelle is the first amputee to return to a combat zone after suffering such an injury. Courtesy of Multi-National Corps Iraq Public Affairs

Such advances in combat casualty care are not only saving more lives, they are enabling more soldiers to return to active duty. In particular, the percentage of amputees who return to active duty in the U.S. armed forces is higher now than ever before, according to LTC Kevin L. Kirk, DO, who presented his paper, “Return to Duty Rate of Amputee Soldiers in the Current Conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq,” at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society.

The research team, which included CPT Daniel J. Stinner, MD; CPT Travis C. Burns, MD; and COL James R. Ficke, MD, attempted to identify factors that increase likelihood of return to duty.
Return rates improve over time

According to the U.S. Military, personnel are considered to be unfit for service if they have had a major limb amputation. However, military personnel may petition to remain on active duty if they can obtain recommendations from two medical officers and demonstrate a high level of function with prostheses.

“Overall, 82 percent of casualties in the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have sustained extremity injuries,” said Dr. Kirk, “with traumatic amputations accounting for 2.3 percent of all battle injuries and 7.4 percent of major limb injuries.”

Dr. Kirk and his colleagues reviewed the cases of all U.S. military personnel who had combat-related amputations from Oct. 1, 2001, through June 1, 2006, as well as the records of personnel who appeared before the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) during that same time period at a minimum of 2 years post-amputation.
Of the 395 major limb amputees who appeared before the PEB, 65 (16.5 percent) returned to active duty.

A previous, similar study conducted in the 1980s provided the research team an opportunity to compare return rates. In the earlier study, 469 soldiers appeared before the PEB for an amputation sustained while on active duty between 1980 and 1988, but only 11 (2.3 percent) returned to active duty.

According to Dr. Kirk, one reason for the lower return rate in the earlier study may be a lack of designated amputee centers for U.S. personnel during the 1980s and 1990s.

“In addition to state-of-the-art rehabilitation found at these centers, it appears that informal group therapy among amputees may play a beneficial role,” he said.
Officers, elders most likely to return

Those with multiple extremity amputations had the lowest return-to-duty rate (3 percent). The overall return-to-duty rate for single extremity amputees was 20 percent (p<0.0001).

The 130 transtibial amputees comprised the largest single group in the study (32.9 percent). At 22 percent, they also presented one of the highest return-to-duty rates. Hand amputees also returned at a 22 percent rate. Foot amputees, at 25 percent, were most likely to return overall.

In breaking down the demographics of returning warriors, the researchers found that officers (35.3 percent) and senior enlisted personnel (25.5 percent) had a higher return rate than junior enlisted personnel (7.0 percent, p<0.0001). They also learned that older personnel were more likely to return than younger personnel—the average age of returning personnel was 31.4 years; the average age of separating personnel was 27.2 years (p<0.0001).

Gender did not appear to play a role in return to duty, with 63 of 384 male amputees (16.4 percent) returning and 2 of 11 female amputees (18.2 percent) returning.

Although the results were not statistically significant, amputees in combat units trended toward a higher return rate than amputees from support units such as military intelligence, medical, and transportation.

The authors report no relevant conflicts, but state that the opinions or assertions contained in the study are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.

Peter Pollack is a staff writer for AAOS Now. He can be reached at ppollack@aaos.org

Active.com/donate/teamfisherhouse/walkforwarriors