The phone rings in the amputee clinic and it is one of Darcy’s patients. He is on a skip trip sponsored by Disabled Sports USA and wants to tell Darcy that he just went down the ski slope on a mono-ski (seated ski). It’s his first trip away from the hospital since an improvised explosive device (IED) in Iraq blew his legs away four months ago.
His exhilaration is reflected in Darcy’s face. She downplays it when she hangs up the phone, but I can tell she’s secretly thrilled. Getting these phone calls, hearing these stories, are huge victories. It is what we live for as physical therapists–whether it’s seeing a patient head back to the ski slope, or, because we work for the U.S. Army, back to combat. It’s what makes the long hours and the physicality of our work worth it.
–Adele Levine
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