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Meet three American soldiers, each fighting to overcome a painful spinal injury resulting in depression, feelings of rejection, and poor quality of life.
- SFC Phillip Bell from Orland Park, Illinois, whose spine was damaged by a roadside bomb while he was serving in Iraq
- Maj. Wendell Lowry from Lincoln, Illinois, who re-injured his neck while training for deployment to Iraq
- Sgt. Randy Wiertella from Marquette, Michigan, who sustained back injuries while serving in Iraq
While the military futures of all three Army National Guardsmen have been derailed—at least temporarily—hope persists that the coping skills and exercise techniques learned at the UI Spine Center will rescue their careers.
In fact, all three enthusiastically say they made significant progress by participating in the UI Spine Center's two-week interdisciplinary Spine Rehabilitation Program.
"How these soldiers ended up at the UI Spine Center is a story in itself," says Ann Vogel, a certified rehabilitation counselor on the rehabilitation team.
Each was initially boarded at a military hospital before being placed in a community-based spine rehabilitation setting. The placements occurred through a program created by Jim Weinstein, DO, chair of orthopaedics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Under the National Guard's medical insurance plan, qualifying spine-injured soldiers from the East Coast go to Dartmouth's program.
Qualifying spine-injured National Guardsmen from Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin go to UI Hospitals and Clinics.
Weinstein, a former UI orthopaedic faculty member, has more than a passing familiarity with the UI Spine Center, having served as director of the fledgling service some 20 years ago.
The UI Spine Center uses an interdisciplinary approach and offers many treatment options. The Spine Rehabilitation Program team includes two physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians, three physical therapists, one psychologist, one social worker, and Vogel.
Bell, Lowry, and Wiertella were the first three National Guardsmen to complete the UI program. More will participate in the coming months.
While it remains to be seen if any of the three will be able to remain in the military, all offer high praise to the UI Spine Rehabilitation program.
Bell, 31, says he would encourage others with similar back problems to visit the UI Spine Center.
Lowry, 49, concurs, saying the UI Spine Care team was among the most professional and caring staffs he has ever met.
"What they do, in very simple terms, is they care!" Lowry says. "They were interested in me, and helping me."
As a result, he can do light chores he could not do before. "My family and friends no longer have to put up with somebody moping around and feeling sorry for himself," he says. "I wish the Army would work with the UI Spine Center to get more soldiers into the Spine Rehabilitation Program."
Wiertella, 33, reports similar progress. "I take half the medications I used to take," he says. He also says the program taught him how important early intervention can be for soldiers and other people with severe spinal pain.
To learn more, call UI Health Access and ask for the UI Spine Center, call the UI Spine Center at 877-607-7463 or 319-356-8400, or visit www.uihealthcare.com/uispinecenter.
For consultation or referral, physicians should call UI Consult.
—Michael Sondergard
Spine Rehabilitation Program
All activities occur in a group setting. Goals include:
- Become more active and stay active
- Understand the role of conditioning and fitness to manage pain
- Use medication safely and appropriately
- Learn new psychological skills to cope with stress and pain
- Develop a vocational plan that will enable a safe return to employment
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