The changes at Walter Reed

First you have to know what Oprah was about today. You can go to www.oprah.com if you want to get a full recap but basically it was about the soldiers who have lost limbs in the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are rehabbing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC.

Here's my story and it means a lot to me so just keep reading...don't give up, it's important. We lived in DC for 8 years from 1995 to 1998 then from 1999-2004. I received ALL my years of infertility treatments at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 100%. So when I first started out going there, it was pre September 11th. I told Mike I hated going there because all you saw were old retirees and their spouses who were shuffling through the halls and making the wait for prescriptions over an hour long. As the years went by I had to go to WRAMC more and more often as the intensity of infertility went up. When you go through an inner uterine insemination or through IVF you have to be at the infertility clinic every morning at 6am for an ultrasound and blood test so they can know how your ovaries are stimulating and when to do the processes you need to conceive. So in a month, I would have to be there on at least 14 mornings minimum. Because I had to be there at 6am, Mike and I would go together, then we'd head on up to the cafeteria for breakfast and he'd drop me off on the subway and head off to med school. Those retirees were EVERYWHERE. They would be eating breakfast and wearing their veteran hats and sitting at a big table of old guys shooting the bull all morning. There's a big huge lobby where there are couches and chairs and you couldn't get a seat because the old timers would sit and read the paper, visit and have their coffee. I remember walking through the halls feeling grateful for their sacrifice for our country and glad they had served our country but honestly wanting them to get out of my way because I was tired and it was 6am and I had stuff to do.

I remember the first time I was walking briskly down the hall and got stuck behind an amputee. All that registered in my mind was that I was being slowed up again. My mind just automatically went to the retiree thoughts I normally had that I wished they could go faster because I had places to go and people to see and a baby to make. Then I realized I was stuck behind a kid without a leg. And his little girl was riding on his lap. And his wife was pushing his wheelchair. It stunned me. I didn't know where to look. My heart spead up and I got all sweaty because I realized at that moment that something horrible was starting. The months and years dragged on and it wasn't long before you didn't see tables of old guys shooting the bull at Walter Reed. Instead, we ate our bagels and scrambled eggs every morning next to tables full of young kids who were missing legs and arms. They weren't shooting the bull. Mostly they were pretty quiet, while they ate their breakfast. And before long, all you saw at Walter Reed were amputees...everywhere. Young men and women in wheel chairs with tired looking spouses or mothers and their children riding on their laps everywhere they went.

I am so glad Oprah went to Walter Reed and did this story. I think every American should have a chance to just go have breakfast in the cafeteria there. I promise, it's a life changing experience. I am so proud that Mike was able to play a small part in treating these soldiers. But I would give just about anything for Walter Reed to be filled with slow WALKING retirees again.