http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10842489/site/newsweek/
‘We Weren’t Ready for It’
A woman who lost both legs in Iraq on taking care of America’s injured
veterans
WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Jessica Bennett
Newsweek
Updated: 7:41 p.m. ET Jan. 13, 2006
Jan. 13, 2006 - Maj. Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Army National Guard, was
piloting a Blackhawk helicopter over Iraq when it was hit by a rocket
propelled grenade in November, 2004. Duckworth lost her right leg and
most of her left as a result of the attack. Now, she’s running as a
Democrat for a Congressional seat representing Chicago's western
suburbs, replacing Republican Henry Hyde, who is retiring after 32
years.
Duckworth spent nearly 11 months during her rehabilitation at the Fisher
House at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, one of 35 facilities
started by the founders of the Intrepid Fund, Zachary and Elizabeth
Fisher, to provide accommodations for family members of soldiers
undergoing treatment. NEWSWEEK's Jessica Bennett spoke with Duckworth
about the challenges and issues surrounding her return from service.
Excerpts:
What kind of rehabilitation did you receive when you returned from Iraq?
I lived at Fisher House, at Walter Reed, from the end of February, 2005,
until December. It was a huge difference in the quality of my life and
the quality of my family’s life on so many levels. It does that for all
of the soldiers. One of the benefits of having a Fisher House on the
campus of any of the army medical centers is that they’re able to
discharge you as an inpatient but you’re near enough that doctors feel
okay about letting you go. It keeps you from having to stay in a
hospital bed that whole time. If it wasn’t for Fisher House, I would
have spent the last 13 months in a hospital bed and I would not have
progressed as well as I did.
Do you agree with veterans groups who say that rehabilitation facilities
like the Intrepid Center should be funded by the government, not through
private donations?
I think the Iraq war has created a need for these centers that was not
there before. Because of the nature of the combat injuries coming out of
Iraq, wounded soldiers are needing long-term care of more than just a
month or two. And there was nothing set up for them. We weren’t ready
for it. But the army is a huge institution, and they have a yearly
budget, and, I mean, there’s a whole process. They can’t react as
quickly as something like the Intrepid Foundation. The Veterans
Administration just can’t support all the veterans they need to now.
Because of lack of funding?
The VA’s budget is not a mandatory one, and I personally think it needs
to be. The budget can be cut, which means that there are veterans who,
after having served this country, have to go without some of the basic
care they were promised they would get. … There are veterans from the
first Gulf War that have to wait eight, nine months to get into the VA
system. In the meantime, a lot of them go without health insurance.
Those who afford it have it, but those who don’t just have to wait in
line. That’s one of the reasons I want to get into Congress. I’m going
to be a strong voice for veterans and veterans rights.
What brought about your political plans?
I’ve always been about public service, I testified before the Senate and
House committees on VA affairs, and that got me thinking about that this
is something I’d like to do to represent my peers, my family, my
friends.
What were some of the biggest challenges for you in learning how to live
without your legs?
It’s the very little things, just daily living. For me, it was changing
my sheets on my bed. How do you do that if you have no legs? Having a
safe environment to be able to practice those things and to get help if
I needed to was a tremendous stepping-stone toward being able to live my
life in the real world.
© 2006 Newsweek
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Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a cornucopia of splinters.
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