The Problems

As of April 29, 2008, the Pentagon counted 53,000 wounded service members in the current conflicts. Independents experts say that is a conservative figure.  They estimate the number of brain injuries alone might total 320,000. In addition to the physical injuries, there are thousands of cases of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Last year military screeners detected psychological systems in 31 percent of Marines, 38 percent of soldiers and 49 percent of National Guardsman returning from war.  Former Army physician, Ronald Glassner MD, said, “This is a war of disability, not a war of deaths.  Its legacy is the orthopedics and neurology wards, not the cemetery.”  World War II had 38 deaths per 100 injuries, Vietnam had 28 per 100 and Iraq and Afghanistan just 6 deaths per 100 injuries.  A wounded soldier can be stateside within 36 hours of an injury.  Battlefield medicine is nothing short of miraculous and soldiers injured in Iraq have a 96% survival rate.

  The Current Solution

A large number of our returning wounded veterans are sent to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.  The Intrepid National Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center is a state of the art facility that provides diagnostic, treatment, rehabilitation and training functions including physical, occupational, social, mental and nutritional health.  Clinical space houses areas for fitting, testing and adjusting advanced prosthetics and provide areas for clinical research.  This 40 million dollar, 65,000 square foot, four-story facility has treatment teams of physicians, orthopedic surgeons, protetists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, gait therapists, dietician and more.  It has running gait analysis, uneven terrain modeler, swimming pool, childcare center, a gym and a 30-foot climbing and rappelling wall.

  The Real Problem

Once our wounded veterans are processed through this marvelous facility they go home.  This is when the actual problems begin.  In some cases, parents, many of them boomers and some older, are becoming caregivers. According to officials from The Wounded Warrior Projects, The Military Family Network and the Coalition to Salute Americas Heroes, an estimated 10,000 recent veterans of these conflicts now depend on their parents for their care. Some have quit their jobs, delayed retirement and moved to be with and care for their wounded sons and daughters.  However, some families have not been able to provide care for our wounded veterans.  We received an email dated 11/10/2008 from an organization called Military Moms in Homestead, Florida.  She wrote about a wounded Marine who has started a home for other wounded veterans whose families were unable to cope with their disabilities.  He now has 14 other wounded veterans living in his home in Ohio.  The injuries range from amputations to PTSD.  The one thing they all have in common is being American Heroes, recently wounded in combat and without any home or family support.

  The Unfortunate Result

All of this could be the reason that a record number of soldiers committed suicide in 2008.  A total of 109 suicides equal a rate of 18.4 per 100,000, the highest since the Army started counting in 1980.  The Army spends $100 million on support programs.  The Army has moved more aggressively in recent years to stem suicide, instituting mandatory training for every soldier.  The research indicates that almost 70% of suicides in 2006 were caused by failed relationships.  For all that is being done for our returning war heroes, it still isn’t enough.  We need to do something else to reverse these trends.  Our brave veterans that survive the perils of war need to return home to something better.  They fought to protect us and they deserve better.  Some have no choice but to spend the rest of their lives in VA Hospitals.  The current programs stop far short of returning our wounded veterans to society.  Rehab is not enough.  We need to do more and we need to do it now.

  The Real Solution

Helping Hands for the Wounded Veterans was established to do just that.  The vision of our President, Andy Pope, is to build a technology ranch for individuals with disabilities to help them discover their abilities.  We feel the ranch setting in much more beneficial to the recovery of our disabled individuals instead of the clinical setting now utilized.  A noted Chicago doctor maintains that the sound of running water, music and horses are condusive to learning.

The ranch would be situated on 250 plus acres of land to allow the development of horseback riding trails, hunting, fishing and the Baseball Miracle Field.  The ranch would incorporate the “Wheel of Life” design.  A center hub to house the main administration and testing labs.  The “spokes” would branch out from the hub to facilitate in one place, the remainder of the labs and support centers.  Some of these would include a lab for assistance technology for home and work environments.  Physical and mental rehab centers, dining facilities, housing both individuals and families and recreation.

The next two hubs are the most important and are what separate our ranch design from all other facilities.  The first hub will train individuals to run and operate CNC milling machine, computers for various industries, based on their abilities.  We have a machine shop that produces the mounts that can be attached to wheel chairs or utility vehicles.  These mounts allow severely injured, even blind individuals, to hunt once again.  We have also manufacture a fishing rig and a kit to modify a UTV, like a Polaris Ranger, to lift and safely transport disabled individuals into the woods to hunt or fish.

A large number of wounded veterans hunt and fish.  Because of their injuries, many feel they could never enjoy the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family.  We have successfully provided a number of “All American Dream Hunts” for wounded war veterans as well as non-military disabled individuals.  I would like to share with you a success story about a young man by the name of Danny.  Danny was helping a damsel in distress. He stopped on the side of the road to help a woman who had a flat tire in January 2007.  While changing the tire, he was struck by a tractor-trailer rig.  He was left a quadriplegic.  In March, a bull on the family farm killed his father.  In June, Danny got married.  In November, Danny used our Equalizer rig to go deer hunting again.  Just like he did before his unfortunate accident Danny shot not one but two deer on his hunting trip. Danny was so happy that he could once again participate in his passion for hunting.  Several months later, a blood clot traveled from Danny’s leg to his heart, killing him.  At the wake for Danny all everyone talked about how excited Danny was for the opportunity to hunt again.

  Call to Action

We believe that for some wounded veterans and non-military disabled the “All-American Dream Hunt” is the first step in helping individuals to realize their potential.  We have found that once they see they can accomplish something they did before their injuries, they can overcome other challenges.  They see through assisted technology they can achieve more and become a productive part of society once again.  A source of purpose is one of the most powerful tools we have to help anyone.  It’s not important if they shoot a deer or not.  Ask most hunters; just being in the woods with family and friends makes it a great day.  Perhaps we should change the name from “All-American Dream Hunts” to “Hunts of Hope.”  For many, this could be the first step to helping them accomplish great things.

The next spoke is extremely important.  For 20 years, Andy has worked with the private sector to help place disabled individuals into the work force.  The Federal Government gives credits and special tax incentives to firms that hire people with disabilities.  The problem with most employers is they want to hire a proven employee that can do the job.  Therefore we have the job of educating the employer, the disabled individual and the families of disabled individuals.

  Employer

The employer needs to understand that we are the proving grounds for individuals with disabilities.  They need to understand the abilities that trained individuals will add to the bottom line for their companies.  Technology will be utilized to allow individuals with disabilities to compete in the corporate market place.

Individuals with Disabilities

We need to educate disabled individuals on how technology will help maximize their abilities and increase in productivity.  Computers can be utilized to operate equipment, run software programs, keep inventories and many other applications.  This process will help build confidence and allow more independent life style.

  Families

A critical part of the recovery process is the love and support of the families of injured soldiers.  Most families have very little experience in dealing with disabled individuals.  The demand can be quite high and the progress can be slow.  They can remember how it was before the injury and they want that person back. Over 70% of the suicides in 2006 were a result of failed relationships.  We need to work with families to give them the tools to provide the support necessary for recovery.  Expectations can be very high and disappointment will occur at times.  They need to know how to deal with disappointment and how to encourage everyone to work through the problem.  Together they can make a difference.

  Jobs

You can’t turn on a TV or read a newspaper or magazine without finding some article about jobs being lost. Thousands of people are becoming unemployed everyday with more to come.  The President has his hands full trying to preserve and create jobs.

We believe that the Technology Ranch will create many sustainable jobs.  Whenever the Intrepid National Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center in San Antonio was established, it was estimated it created over 9000 jobs. These are not minimum wage jobs, but jobs that pay enough to raise and maintain a family.  When people have good paying jobs, they stimulate the economy.  Our pilot ranch will be able to be duplicated in many different parts of the country.  An opportunity to help disabled war veterans and non-military alike.  Instead of one or two facilities we could have 100 or more.  Because they will subcontract many parts of the program – the ranch will be sustainable.  We will not require ongoing support from the Federal Government.  The purpose is to build a facility that will finish the job where hospitals and rehab facilities leave off.