Injured Army specialist receives cane from local carvers

  • Published
  • By Mike Wallace
  • Skywrighter staff
HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio --  An Army specialist who is undergoing physical therapy three days a week at the Wright-Patterson Medical Center received a custom-made, eagle-head cane from a team of a dozen woodcarvers April 12 at the Huber Heights Senior Citizens Center. 

Army Specialist Thomas Lewis of Miamisburg accepted the cane from Bill Wright, president of the Huber Heights Senior Citizens Center, during a small ceremony at the center where his parents, Tom and Maureen Lewis, also attended. 

Mr. Wright said he felt that veterans "are not given the recognition they deserve."
"We came to the idea of a project, an eagle-headed cane, to present to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. 

"This is our way of showing you our appreciation for your service," he said to Spc. Lewis.
 
Mr. Wright said that the woodcarvers group there had sent canes to veterans in Chicago, Pennsylvania and Texas and similar efforts, which apparently began in Oklahoma and are going on in every state. He added that the cane was "a joint community effort" at the center with one person turning the shaft and different people carving and painting the figurine. 

Saying that he "joined the Army to see the world," Spc. Lewis was in his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was in a vehicle accident in October. The driver of the truck that Spc. Lewis commanded had to brake suddenly, lost control and the vehicle went off a 75-foot embankment and rolled twice. The accident left one man dead and two hurt. Spc. Lewis was thrown out and received multiple injuries. 

First taken to a hospital in Baghdad, Spc. Lewis went to Germany and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., where he spent two and a half months in recuperation. He's now undergoing physical therapy here. 

In the Army for three years in which he had one deployment to Iraq as a member of the 82nd Airborne, Spc. Lewis has been in the National Guard for the past three years. 

About his recuperation from his injuries, Spc. Lewis said he's "getting a lot better."
"I was in bed for two months, in a wheelchair for two months, on crutches for two months and now I'm using a cane," he said. 

He said that his therapy at the base included riding a stationary bicycle, weight training and other exercises and that one of the goals was to increase the range of motion of his ankles. 

Because of the privacy act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the medical center cannot release the names of patients. As a result, Mr. Wright said that the most difficult part of the center's woodcarver project has been getting the names of potential recipients. 

For more information about the cane program or the woodcarvers group, call the Huber Heights Senior Citizens Center at (937) 233-9999.