WEBVTT 00:01.701 --> 00:04.118 (soft music) 00:19.024 --> 00:21.607 (upbeat music) 00:30.129 --> 00:31.906 - Welcome to the Regional Health Report. 00:31.906 --> 00:33.073 ^I'm Ann Krebs. 00:33.347 --> 00:36.181 ^This monthly program highlights the world class healthcare 00:36.181 --> 00:38.161 ^we provide to you at each of our 00:38.161 --> 00:40.718 Regional Health Command Atlantic Medical facilities, 00:40.718 --> 00:43.327 dental clinics, and public health units. 00:43.327 --> 00:46.345 Each November, the Army highlights the resilience 00:46.345 --> 00:48.873 and strength of soldiers and their families 00:48.873 --> 00:50.830 during Warrior Care Month. 00:50.830 --> 00:53.253 Master Sergeant Retired Cedric King 00:53.253 --> 00:55.603 is the recipient of the Bronze Star, 00:55.603 --> 00:58.727 the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, 00:58.727 --> 01:02.894 and is a four-time Best Ranger Competition participant. 01:03.000 --> 01:06.512 He shares his inspirational story and motivates others 01:06.512 --> 01:09.906 to see the possibilities in their own lives. 01:09.906 --> 01:11.378 - We were put in this tough place 01:11.378 --> 01:15.093 in Afghanistan in the Summer of 2012, (mumbles). 01:15.093 --> 01:17.734 ^We had to go and find the place where 01:17.734 --> 01:20.734 ^this enemy cell was fighting out of. 01:21.049 --> 01:23.886 We go out and we conduct a reconnaissance 01:23.886 --> 01:28.053 and during the reconnaissance, we got into a shoot out. 01:28.215 --> 01:31.715 During the shoot out, I stepped on an IUD. 01:32.208 --> 01:35.432 ^- I received a phone call at our old home in North Carolina 01:35.432 --> 01:39.515 ^letting me know that Cedric had stepped on an IUD 01:39.515 --> 01:41.718 and that he had immediately lost 01:41.718 --> 01:44.468 his left leg just below the ankle 01:45.187 --> 01:48.854 and that his right leg was severely damaged. 01:49.220 --> 01:53.158 They wouldn't tell me if he was going to survive. 01:53.158 --> 01:56.461 The first two days, it was one more thing 01:56.461 --> 01:58.675 that had happened or one more thing that was wrong. 01:58.675 --> 02:00.312 They called and let me know that they 02:00.312 --> 02:01.883 had to take his right leg. 02:01.883 --> 02:05.035 They told me that he lost his middle ring finger. 02:05.035 --> 02:08.915 I mean, it was just bad news, bad news, bad news, bad news. 02:08.915 --> 02:11.332 ^(soft music) 02:16.991 --> 02:18.583 Knowing how much pain he was in, 02:18.583 --> 02:22.750 knowing how much pain he's still in every single day, 02:23.429 --> 02:25.721 how many surgeries he's had, and that 02:25.721 --> 02:28.471 he still looks at life as a gift, 02:29.660 --> 02:33.827 that he still finds joy everyday, that's inspirational. 02:34.160 --> 02:37.493 ^- It's actually a blessing, it really is 02:38.549 --> 02:41.468 ^and I think it's our job to find out 02:41.468 --> 02:45.135 how it is a blessing, not how it is a curse, 02:46.946 --> 02:51.113 or not how it is a burden, it's how it is a blessing. 02:52.355 --> 02:55.123 I think you have to put challenges in your life 02:55.123 --> 02:56.737 that are so big that you don't 02:56.737 --> 02:59.224 think you're gonna accomplish them, 02:59.224 --> 03:00.977 but you want to accomplish them. 03:00.977 --> 03:02.309 You set a goal that's bigger than 03:02.309 --> 03:04.835 what you think you're capable of doing. 03:04.835 --> 03:07.034 You have to have enough courage to do that. 03:07.034 --> 03:10.576 When I got injured, I knew I wanted to not just walk again, 03:10.576 --> 03:13.245 I wanted to do the unthinkable kind of things. 03:13.245 --> 03:15.388 I wanted to run marathons. 03:15.388 --> 03:17.317 I didn't wanna just get in the water 03:17.317 --> 03:21.234 and do water exercises, I wanted to swim miles. 03:22.174 --> 03:24.360 I think just 'cause you took my legs away, 03:24.360 --> 03:26.338 you didn't take away the competitor. 03:26.338 --> 03:28.238 You gotta train when nobody's there. 03:28.238 --> 03:31.824 You have to be on the treadmill when nobody's watching 03:31.824 --> 03:35.202 and that's how it's gonna be most of the time. 03:35.202 --> 03:39.369 Nobody's gonna be there while you're doing the training. 03:40.969 --> 03:44.068 This is the home of my gym and this is where I come 03:44.068 --> 03:46.394 and work out when I can't make it 03:46.394 --> 03:49.945 to the gym down the street, I get my workouts here. 03:49.945 --> 03:52.857 And I got my inspiration up on the wall. 03:52.857 --> 03:55.988 These are four of the maybe eight marathons, 03:55.988 --> 03:57.966 or seven marathons that I've done, 03:57.966 --> 04:02.133 but these four, every last one of them were 26.2 miles. 04:03.382 --> 04:07.465 It's always requiring that you push to the limit, 04:09.169 --> 04:12.922 there are no moments off in one of these marathons. 04:12.922 --> 04:16.672 You have to put forth effort the entire time, 04:17.392 --> 04:20.801 but by doing that, you become a better you. 04:20.801 --> 04:24.933 (cheering) And just like a marathon, 04:24.933 --> 04:29.100 life is no different, you have to have a moment in your life 04:29.513 --> 04:33.310 where you won, where you overcame something, where 04:33.310 --> 04:36.501 you didn't know if you could win, but you fought anyway. 04:36.501 --> 04:38.918 (soft music) 04:43.328 --> 04:45.044 I knew I wanted to be a speaker. 04:45.044 --> 04:47.440 I wanted to be a speaker from before I got injured. 04:47.440 --> 04:51.073 Handicapped is staying in that pain and letting that pain 04:51.073 --> 04:54.032 dictate the outcome of what will happen. 04:54.032 --> 04:55.886 Four and a half years ago, I'm dreaming 04:55.886 --> 05:00.053 about what I do toady, helping people live their dreams, 05:00.452 --> 05:02.376 inspiring people to do what it is that 05:02.376 --> 05:05.095 they've always wanted to do, and today, 05:05.095 --> 05:07.226 that's what I'm sitting here doing. 05:07.226 --> 05:09.863 - He doesn't see his limitations. 05:09.863 --> 05:12.046 He doesn't put that label on himself, 05:12.046 --> 05:16.213 as far as being disabled, he calls himself differently abled 05:16.234 --> 05:19.306 and that's how he pushes through life. 05:19.306 --> 05:23.473 I am in a different physical package than you are, 05:24.306 --> 05:27.286 but there's nothing you can do that I can't do. 05:27.286 --> 05:30.953 And if there is, we'll find out after I try. 05:37.608 --> 05:39.162 I think it's brought our family closer together, 05:39.162 --> 05:42.829 because we know we can get through anything. 05:43.243 --> 05:45.597 We just have to be persistent. 05:45.597 --> 05:48.553 The family is one thing we weren't willing to give up on. 05:48.553 --> 05:52.720 (cartoons playing) (laughter) 05:53.044 --> 05:57.211 - You still owe these kids, you still owe this woman, 05:57.897 --> 06:02.064 she does not stop needing me to be a good husband, 06:02.846 --> 06:04.763 just 'cause I got hurt. 06:05.066 --> 06:08.066 Kids, they still want you to be dad. 06:13.529 --> 06:15.093 I love you, girls, love you. 06:15.093 --> 06:16.247 - Love you, too. 06:16.247 --> 06:18.008 - This is the day he left. 06:18.008 --> 06:20.072 Look how little they were. 06:20.072 --> 06:21.668 Tell daddy, say, "I love you." 06:21.668 --> 06:24.764 (children mumbling) - Love you! 06:24.764 --> 06:25.847 - I love you. 06:26.298 --> 06:28.298 - I love you, too, babe. 06:30.017 --> 06:31.350 - That was hard. 06:31.405 --> 06:34.655 - That was tough, that was a tough day. 06:34.943 --> 06:36.577 Man, it as a tough day. 06:36.577 --> 06:38.149 That's the day I left. 06:38.149 --> 06:41.352 - Before getting ... - Before getting injured. 06:41.352 --> 06:44.386 But as tough as things were, we still 06:44.386 --> 06:47.636 found a way to stay together, and maybe 06:48.138 --> 06:50.888 that has been the true testimony. 06:51.049 --> 06:54.716 We stay together in spite of this happening. 06:56.449 --> 06:58.699 (laughter) 07:05.886 --> 07:09.127 - October saw two massive hurricanes slam 07:09.127 --> 07:12.945 the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana. 07:12.945 --> 07:15.964 Many people sent donations or relief supplies. 07:15.964 --> 07:19.459 Still others, like federal and military personnel 07:19.459 --> 07:21.953 went where help was needed most. 07:21.953 --> 07:25.657 Zach Winstrom of Winn Army Community Hospital has the story 07:25.657 --> 07:29.740 of one healthcare provider who made a difference. 07:30.222 --> 07:31.520 - It's hard to describe, because 07:31.520 --> 07:32.961 the Virgin Islands themselves are, 07:32.961 --> 07:35.599 it's obviously a beautiful place that's in the Caribbean. 07:35.599 --> 07:39.063 It looked as if there had been a forest fire, 07:39.063 --> 07:41.685 but there was no fires, so all the trees 07:41.685 --> 07:43.978 were completely stripped of their leaves, 07:43.978 --> 07:47.012 there was no green, it was completely brown. 07:47.012 --> 07:49.403 Most houses were completely destroyed. 07:49.403 --> 07:51.622 There were power poles everywhere, 07:51.622 --> 07:54.639 kind of snapped in half all over roads. 07:54.639 --> 07:57.217 The residents were three weeks in of having no electricity 07:57.217 --> 07:59.816 and had just recently started getting supplies 07:59.816 --> 08:02.518 like water, food, shelter, those types of things, 08:02.518 --> 08:04.318 so they were really struggling with that 08:04.318 --> 08:06.198 and it was pretty unreal to be there ourselves 08:06.198 --> 08:07.621 and not have those amenities, 08:07.621 --> 08:09.572 ^but obviously much more impactful 08:09.572 --> 08:11.118 ^for the residents who had been going weeks 08:11.118 --> 08:13.710 ^without those kind of creature comforts. 08:13.710 --> 08:17.089 I was deployed as part of the federal government's response 08:17.089 --> 08:19.872 under the Department of Health and Human Services 08:19.872 --> 08:22.622 to provide mental health services 08:22.740 --> 08:25.837 to the residents of the United States Virgin Islands 08:25.837 --> 08:29.492 who are affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. 08:29.492 --> 08:32.368 We met with a lot of agency leadership, 08:32.368 --> 08:35.451 so the head of FEMA, the head of American Red Cross, 08:35.451 --> 08:37.668 non-profit organizations that were there, 08:37.668 --> 08:40.156 different federal government assets, 08:40.156 --> 08:41.718 there was a lot of military folks there. 08:41.718 --> 08:43.248 So, we met with the leadership there 08:43.248 --> 08:44.716 and figured out what did they need 08:44.716 --> 08:46.153 from a mental health perspective. 08:46.153 --> 08:48.254 So, we really tasked with two different things. 08:48.254 --> 08:52.285 One was providing training to those first responders 08:52.285 --> 08:54.029 on how to interact with residents 08:54.029 --> 08:55.427 from a mental health perspective, 08:55.427 --> 08:57.714 so training them on psychological first aid, 08:57.714 --> 09:00.167 how do you discuss with those residents 09:00.167 --> 09:02.953 how they're doing, how they're mental health has been, 09:02.953 --> 09:04.512 how they've been coping, and so training 09:04.512 --> 09:07.190 those first responders on how to interact with residents, 09:07.190 --> 09:09.454 being mindful of the impact the hurricanes 09:09.454 --> 09:11.142 had on their mental health, and then, 09:11.142 --> 09:13.962 our second mission was to interact directly 09:13.962 --> 09:16.935 with the residents and provide psychological first aid. 09:16.935 --> 09:20.154 So, talking with them, recommending different ways to cope, 09:20.154 --> 09:23.436 encouraging them to seek out social support, 09:23.436 --> 09:25.615 so working directly with the residents. 09:25.615 --> 09:29.109 I was amazed by how resilient the population was. 09:29.109 --> 09:32.128 For the most part, people were doing really well, 09:32.128 --> 09:35.440 better than I would have anticipated if I had lost my house 09:35.440 --> 09:37.553 and electricity, and power, and all of those things. 09:37.553 --> 09:39.933 For the most part, they seemed to have a positive outlook. 09:39.933 --> 09:42.442 I think it was pretty inspiring, if nothing else, 09:42.442 --> 09:44.718 particularly working directly with the residents, 09:44.718 --> 09:47.731 seeing how resilient people are following disasters 09:47.731 --> 09:49.551 was really neat to see and to see it first hand, 09:49.551 --> 09:52.747 to be able to respond during times of crisis 09:52.747 --> 09:56.162 when people are really struggling with huge disasters, 09:56.162 --> 09:58.394 I think it's important that we as soldiers, 09:58.394 --> 10:02.561 service members, officers, step up and answer the call. 10:03.723 --> 10:06.258 - That's the Regional Health Report for November. 10:06.258 --> 10:08.030 Join us next month for another show 10:08.030 --> 10:10.359 highlighting healthcare across the region. 10:10.359 --> 10:12.446 In the meantime, don't forget to check us out 10:12.446 --> 10:15.998 on Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard, Pinterest, and YouTube. 10:15.998 --> 10:17.999 We're also on the Army Medicine channel 10:17.999 --> 10:19.657 of the Defense TV app. 10:19.657 --> 10:21.236 Thanks for joining us. 10:21.236 --> 10:23.736 (soft music)